Love Is Unexpected: George and Hermione Story
by HufflepuffQuidditch1
Summary: Hermione and George are polar opposites. But these two demonstrate that opposites really do attract. With Hermione's knowledge and book smarts along with George's mischevious attitude they make for a both unique and wonderful couple. In their last years, which are most definitely full of drama, you'll learn that love really is unexpected, and can work out for the better.
1. The Burrow

"Hello, Mrs. Weasley." I said as I stepped into 'The Burrow', which is the Weasley's rickety home, that looked like each room was stacked on top of eachother, about seven floors, I believe.

"Hello, Hermione," Mrs. Weasley said as she hugged me, "Go ahead, come in." She said as she motioned me into the kitchen,

"I already love your home, Mrs. Weasley." I said as I looked around with a smile.

The dishes in the kitchen were cleaning themselves, I'm guessing because they were enchanted. And close to the kitchen was the dining area, a table with nine different seats, and a high, wooden table, with a different shad of brown in every corner, all I could do was smile at this sight.

"Granger's here, George." Fred said as he walked into the kitchen,

"Hello, Hermione," George said with a smirk, "Excited for the Quidditch Cup?"

I was at the Weasley's this year because I was going to attend the Quidditch Cup with them, and I was really excited to be a part of this.

"Yes, I am." I said as I took my shoes off,

"Save a seat beside me." George said with a wink.

I gave him a look that told him not a chance.

"Oh, come on, George! Be polite!" Said Mrs. Weasley as she took my bags.

"You'll be in Ginny's room, Hermione." She said.

"You know who's room is right above that." George said as Mrs. Weasley gave him a look that made him shut his mouth right up.

"The Dark Lord lives upstairs? I'm sorry, George, but that seems impossible." I said smirking.

After Mrs. Weasley walked off, I walked over to George.

"I'll be keeping an eye on you, Weasley!" I said sternly. He just smirked wider.

"I can assure that I'll do the same."

At this comment I turned around, grabbed a sponge that had been cleaning a plate and threw it at him and got him wet.

Fred started laughing, and I smirked a little and walked away proudly. I walked to the stairs that twisted around, somewhat like the stairs on the way to my dormitory, until I finally found Ginny's room,

"Hey, Hermione." She said as she got off her bed,

"This is my room, it's not much." I thought it was really cool, it had light blue walls, a white comforter on her small bed, posters of Gryffindor on her wall, and a pile of old stuffed animals in a corner, with dark green carpet spread around all the floor. I don't know what she was talking about, it was wonderful, much more interesting than my room.

"You'll be staying here," she said as she pointed at a sleeping bag on the groud,

"Sorry you have to sleep on the floor. My dad found this bag thing from his Muggle artifacts-"

"Sleeping bag, it's called." I said.

"Oh, right." She said as she sat down again,

"I love it, thanks for letting me stay here, Ginny." I said with a smile.

"It's better than being near one of my stupid brothers." She said laughing,

"Especially Fred and George. They've been working on pranks and stuff that will make your hair blue. Loads of rubbish, I really don't know." She said as we both laughed.

"Just, if they offer you anything, say no."

"Aw, no, it's completely harmless." George said as he rested on the side of Ginny's door with his arms crossed, and smirking once more.

"You two are never up to good, George." They may seem all nice and charming and innocent on the outside, but those boys were never up to good.

"Besides, mum says you can't be in a girl's room!" Ginny said.

"I'm not, do I have a foot in your room? No, so therefor, I am not." He said smartly.

"Oh, just go away!" I said as I threw a pillow at him.

"This Granger's got a temper. Looks good on her though.." He said as he smiled and walked off.

"Brothers." Ginny muttered.

I sat there talking to Ginny for about an hour or so, somewhat wondering where Ron was, and couldn't believe I hadn't seen him yet, until I heard the door open.

"Hermione!" He said as he came through the door with Percy.

"When did you get here?" He said as he and Percy walked through the kitchen and into the living room, where I was now sitting.

"About two hours ago."

"And she's already hit George twice." Fred said, laughing,

"Fred means I threw a sponge-"

"A wet sponge."

"Because George was flirting with me."

"Don't forget the pillow." I looked at Fred, with the look Mrs. Weasley gave George earlier and he instantly stopped talking,

"Ladies' man, Miss Granger." George said, crossing his arms,

"Oh, puh-lease." I said as I rolled my eyes,

"Where were you?" I asked, turning back at Ron.

"Percy wanted to take me to the Ministry to meet Mr. Barty Crouch. He practically dragged me out there." He said as he sat on the couch beside me.

"Do you know if Harry's going to come to the Cup with us?" I asked him.

"I sent him a letter through Muggle mail, I hope I sent it correctly."

"How'd you send it?" I asked, for I lived with my Muggle parents, and knew how to send letters.

"We put our address, I believe, and his, and put those sticker things-"

"Stamps."

"Right. Well we put maybe twenty on the envelope." He said as I put my hand on my forehead laughing my head off.

"What?" He asked confused.

"Nothing, nothing." I said as I turned away, laughing again.

It was delightful being with the Weasley's with Mrs. Weasley's home cooked meals, and the arguments that they had were quite amusing.

And Mr. Weasley asking me about many things in the Muggle world, asking about rubber ducks and stuff, which was very hard to explain, but I'd hope he'd ask Harry these questions when, and if, he came.

One of the odd things, though, was George, he always asked me if I was okay whenever the Weasleys argued, usually Fred and Percy, Fred yelling at him to not boss him around, which usually led to Mrs Weasley intervening and sending them both in their rooms, and quiet mutters under her breath, most of which were very funny. George would also sit closer to me than usual.

He would smile at me every time I came into contact with him, which, of course, had to be followed by a wink.

The weird thing, however, was that I enjoyed it.

He said he wouldn't prank me anymore while I was visiting after he made me have a duck beak after taking a bite into this soup he made for me, which I had thought was sweet at first.

I believe he was just joking when he said that. I hoped he wasn't joking, at least, because if he did it again, I'd smack him. Harsh, no, I'll smack him any day, after smacking Malfoy, I quite enjoyed it.

Fred would try and persuade him into pulling a prank on me, but George refused.

I loved it when George would look at me and smile.

But I didn't think much of it, though, I've known George for four years now, I knew what he was capable of.

I just decided to ignore it, because I could easily have been mistaken. Because he still joked around with me, which sometimes was funny, and sometimes it was annoying and very misleading.

But when George and Fred messed with me, Mr Weasley let me boss them around a few times, because she said that I was mature and trustworthy enough.

Mrs. Weasley and I had fun messing with the boys for the next few days, it was much more fun with the Weasleys the last few days than it had ever been at my house, for I was an only child, and my parents were often at the dentists' office, working.

It was about two days until we got a letter back from Harry.

He had said that, after a lot of persuading his aunt and uncle, he was given permission to go to the Quidditch World Cup.

Mr Weasley had said he'd pick Harry up, so he, along with Ron, Fred, and George, were to go to the Dursley's house by the Floo Network.

The night before they left, we had supper, made specially by Mrs Weasley. Too bad most of it didn't make it into our mouths.

"Miss me while I'm gone, Grangey?" George asked as he sat beside me at the dinner table.

I smiled kindly and replied, "Yes, I will. Because two hours is such a long time." I said sarcastically.

"Well, I'll miss you." He said, taking a bite of chicken.

"Aw, Georgie can't last a couple hours without Granger." Fred said jokingly.

George threw his piece of chicken at Fred, who threw his mashed potatoes at him.

And before I knew it, food was flying from one end to the other. I know I should've helped stop it, but all I could do was laugh.

"Boys! Boys! Stop it now!" Mrs Weasley yelled. But to her dismay, no one obeyed her.

George had a beard made out of mashed potatoes. He quickly looked at me while I was laughing until my sides hurt.

"Like my beard?" He said with a friendly smile.

"It's cute." I said happily.

"Want one?" And before I could say anything, a glob of mashed potatoes came hurdling at my face and hit me on the face.

"Oh you're getting it!" I screamed, taking my bowl of soup and pouring it over his head.

He looked at me with a smile and said, "Hey!" And he grabbed me by the waist and said, "Nice one." I gave him a hug, just to grab yet another glob of potatoes and before I could do anything, he grabbed my wrist, with a full knowledge of what I was going to do.

"Told you I'd keep an eye on you." He said softly.

I looked at him and started laughing.

We continued to throw food at each other until Mrs Weasley had had enough and she made us clean it up.

Once I got done scrubbing the floor, George turned to me and said,

"You're gonna make a great prankster."

And to his word, I squeezed the rag on his head and said,

"You know it."

I wasn't too happy that the fun had ended, but the boys had to pick Harry up tomorrow, by Floo Powder.

I knew Floo Powder would freak out the Dursleys, first of all, it transports you into a fireplace, which would freak an unknowing Muggle out.

Second, the Dursleys were not very fond of wizards at all, after Hagrid took Harry from them when he broke into their home and scared them with his tall and wide stature when Harry was eleven.

Or the next year when Ron, Fred, and George broke Harry out of the Dursley's home.

However, I didn't mention this to them, which I probably should have.

I could have guessed that Fred and George, being their mischievous selves, would take one of their inventions to use on Harry's cousin, Dudley, for he was always awful to Harry, and they didn't like him very much. This would make Mrs. Weasley furious, but that hadn't stopped them before.

Mrs. Weasley didn't like their inventions that they had been creating up in their room, making many noises. She took most of their inventions away, but by what happened when they got to the Dursley's, she didn't get all of them...

*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*

Hello! This is my first chapter for the George and Hermione story, and I know it has started off slow, but I can almost guarantee that there is going to be a lot going on for Hermione and George.

Hermione's getting suspicious of George's behavior, and George is getting suspicious of his behavior towards Hermione as well.

Could he possibly like Hermione? He didn't want to think of the thought, but he couldn't stop himself from thinking about it.

This will lead to a wonderful and, of course, magical story for the two, and I do hope you enjoy it! Thank you for reading. -HufflepuffQuidditch1

•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•


	2. Ton-Tongue Toffee

Once the boys got into the Dursley's, smoke and ash spread all over the living room, and Harry's aunt screamed as Harry ran down stairs,

"Hello, Harry." Said Mr. Weasley politely, as Harry looked at his aunt, uncle and cousin who looked like they had just seen a ghost.

"Mr. Weasley!" Harry said as he ran over to the Weasleys.

"What is wrong with these bloody people?" Uncle Vernon said as he held Dudley and Aunt Petunia behind him,

"Nothing's wrong with them." Harrysaidashesmirked.

"Now, Harry, go and get your trunk." Mr. Weasley said.

Harry nodded and ran upstairs to grab his things. Mr. Weasley walked around, looking at the " Muggle gadgets" as the Dursleys backed up, afraid, when he got close.

"Nice place you have here." Mr. Weasley said, still continuing to survey the house.

George and Fred were whispering behind Mr. Weasley's back,

"Do you have it?" George asked Fred.

"Yes, are you sure we should use it?"

"Are you mental? Of course we should!"

"Alright, I'll drop it before we leave."

Harry came back with his trunk clunk clunk clunk. His trunk came as it hit each stair.

"You ready, Harry?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"Yeah." He said as he walked over to the fireplace.

"Okay let's go." Mr. Weasley said.

"Hold on." Fred said as he pulled out a piece of candy and gave it to Dudley.

Dudley, being his stupid self, picked it up.

"Don't eat tht, Dudley! For all I know, it could turn your hair blue!" Mrs. Dursley said as she tried to take it from him

"Nah, that's a different kind of candy." George said smiling.

Dudley ate the candy.

"What did you two do?" Mr. Weasley whispered to Fred and George as he heard Dudley scream.

"What is in that candy?" Mrs. Dursley screamed.

Dudley's tongue started growing and growing, larger every second.

Mr. Weasley looked at Fred and George angrily and said.

"Just go on! I'll catch up. I can't believe you two!"

"But, dad-" Ron quickly said,

"Go!" Hesaidangrily.

The boys left, laughing.

Once the got back at the house, they could barely breathe from laughing too hard.

"What is it?" Mrs. Weasley asked,

"Where's your father?"

The boys started telling everyone the story.

Charlie and Bill, who had arrived while the boys were gone, began to laugh, but quickly stopped when Mrs. Weasley snapped at them.

Mrs. Weasley thought it anything but funny,

"You boys made Harry's cousin's tongue four feet long?!" She said in disbelief.

"Now it's really fine, Mrs. Weasley, Dudley's a-" she gave him a stern look, and he stopped talking.

"That was so immature, Fred and George! First time meeting the Dursleys and you've made their son's tongue four feet long!" I yelled.

"No, I think you're impressed, Hermione." George said smiling.

"You think I'm impressed? You've gone mental, you have." I said madly.

George just winked and said,

"Want to throw something at me again, I'm starting to enjoy it now." I wanted to, I really did.

I grabbed one of Fred's toffee and threw it at him,

"Now you can have a four foot long tongue! See how you like it. Maybe you'd stop talking!" I said, laughing.

"Nice one, Hermione." Charlie said as I high-fived him.

I gave George a 'don't mess with me' look.

We sat for about an hour talking, Mrs. Weasley yelling at the boys and telling them that they shouldn't have done that. I did back her up on that.

It was starting to get dark when Mr. Weasley came back.

"Did you get his tongue back to normal?" Percy asked, taking a sip of tea.

"Yes. It was very difficult, and I scared the parents by trying some spells that didn't work so well."

"Ah, nice, dad!" Fred said, but he stopped because he realised that his dad was not in the mood.

"I'm very dissapointed in you two." He said sternly. And he walked outside, slamming the door.

"Look what mess you've made, boys! You're dad's ashamed! Now I have to go sort this out. In the meantime, you two go up to your room and wait until dinner."

"You know that only means we'll make more toffee." George said, this made Mrs. Weasley intensely mad.

"Hermione, you're good with putting these boys straight. You mind and get all their Weasley Wheezy Ward Stuffz thing or whatever."

"Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, mum." Fred and George said together.

"Yes, Mrs. Weasley." I said kindly.

"Thank you. It's nice to have a well behaved girl in my home for once."

Ginny coughed heh hem.

"Oh, right, sorry, Ginny." She said as she walked out to talk to Mr. Weasley.

"Guess you're coming in our room, Hermione." George said, laughing softly.

"To clean up all the rubbish, because you're too immature to use it responsibly!" I yelled, but they just smirked wider.

Their room was so messy. Inventions everywhere. Paper thrown from one end to the other; it was much like a pig sty.

"You two are filthy slobs!" I said loudly.

"You betcha." George said as he sat on his bed.

I grabbed a trash bag and started to clean up the mess.

"You're a great cleaner, Hermione, should do it more often, maybe with a maid's outfit." George said with a wink.

" I wouldn't have to do clean if you cleaned once in a while."

"Oh, but if I did, you wouldn't be in my room."

I was really mad at this point, I threw my bag on the ground and ran up to him with my wand pointing at him.

"I swear, Weasley, be nice to me, stop flirting with me right now. If you don't I will hex you!" I said angrily.

But when I looked into his eyes, I softened slightly.

It was something about his green eyes that made me soften up, but I still growled at him, with my wand pointing at him. He had his hands in the air innocently.

"Okay, okay. I get it. I'll stop." He said, kind of frightened, but intrigued.

Fred just stood there, stunned.

I put my wand back in my pocket and went back to the trash bag and closed it.

"There." I said, still mad.

"Thank you, Hermione. And I'm sorry about what I've done." George said politely, smiling.

I suddenly stopped frowning. I wasn't expecting him to thank me or apologize to me,

"You're welcome." I said as I walked out of the room, with the trash bag in my hand. 'That was odd' I thought to myself. I just shrugged and went on my way.

George's POV:

"What just happened?" Fred said, mouth open wide.

"I don't know." I said looking at the door.

"What was that?" Fred repeated.

"I don't know!" I said, now looking at Fred.

"Were you scared of her?" Fred asked.

"I don't know, it was something about her that made me stop." I said, highly confused.

"The fact that she was going to hex you? Don't get afraid of a small fourth year!" Fred said.

"I'm not! I knew she wasn't going to hex me." I said, thinking intensely.

"I don't know, but I do know that we're going to have to make our inventions without anyone knowing. And good thing she didn't check our closet." Fred said opening the closet, that was filled with many of their inventions. We both started smirking widely.

Hermione's POV:

We ate dinner outside. Charlie and Bill made the table with their wands. When I walked outside the tables were flying in the air, Harry, Ron, and Ginny clapping. Once the tables got on the ground, Bill and Charlie bowed proudly. I was just hoping the tables wouldn't fall on anyone. Mrs. Weasley walked out with salad in her hands,

"Did you get the boys' stuff?" She asked as she set the bowl on the table.

"Yes, Mrs. Weasley." I said, not telling her about what happened.

"Wonderful! Thank you, Hermione." She said happily.

It took about thirty minutes for dinner to be ready. The boys and Ginny played a small game of Quidditch, not including Fred and George, who were still up in their room, grounded.

I was hoping weren't planning revenge on me. I felt like I was harsh, but George kept on flirting with me and I don't know what to do.

I didn't think that George liked me, he says I'm like his mom and Percy, which is bossy.

I think he was just playing with me to pick a fight. I just ignored it, as I always do.

Once Fred and George came down to dinner, I felt nervous. I didn't know quite why.

George sat across from me. I looked into his, quite lovely, green eyes and felt something in my stomach.

I couldn't put my finger on what it was, but I knew that it made me happy.

I was still mad at him, so I just frowned. I then looked down on my food, which looked delicious.

"Are you all excited about the Quidditch World Cup?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"Yes, sir. I'm glad I could come, the Dursleys didn't want to let me go, they do not want me to be happy. But then they thought about the fact that I was going to be out of their house. That seemed to change their mind." Harry said.

Mr. Weasley didn't know what to say, he didn't want to insult Harry's family so he just said.

"Well, I'm glad you, along with Hermione," he said as he looked to me,

"get to join us this year. So, tell me, Bulgaria or Ireland?" He asked with a smile, grabbing the butter to slather in his toast.

"I-I don't know, Ireland I suppose." I said.

"Viktor Krum's on the Bulgarian team." Ron stated.

"Who is that?" I asked.

Ron and Harry both looked like they had just been shot.

"Only the best Quidditch player ever!" Ron said quickly.

"Ron's kind of obsessed." Harry said, smiling,

"Am not." Ron said, putting mashed potatoes into his mouth.

"Are to." Ginny whispered to me.

It was a delightful dinner with the Weasleys. We talked forever, until it was completely dark outside.

"Well, I guess we'd better be off to bed soon. You all have to wake up early in the morning," Mrs. Weasley said,

"I'll be getting your books and stuff for school while you're gone." She said as she stood up,

"Girls, go ahead and get your pajamas on. And Ginny, you go pack." Mr. Weasley said motioning us to the house.

I got up, thanked Mrs. Weasley for dinner, and walked inside,

"What did my brothers do?" Ginny asked.

"W-what do you mean?" I asked nervously.

"When you took their stuff out of their room. Did they try and keep it from you?" She said, listening.

"Oh, um, no, they tried to keep it from me at first, but then I just took it and left. Mrs. Weasley, your mum, made me burn it, so it should be gone." I said, kind of relieved that she didn't know anything of what occurred. I got into my sleeping bag slowly.

"Oh," Ginny said, as if she wanted a more interesting story, "well, goodnight." She said as she turned off the light.

I sat there, eyes open, thinking, thinking of what happened. I really didn't know what to think, but all I knew is that I felt warm and happy inside...

... To be continued...


	3. Portkey

I woke up from ice cold water poured on my face,

"What the bloody hell!" I screamed as I sat up.

"Mum says to wake up, Miss Granger."

George said, smiling, and holding the, now empty, bucket.

"I thought you weren't allowed in a girls' room!"

"Mum told me to wake you up."

"Why couldn't Ginny get me up?"

"She's eating breakfast."

"Why aren't you?"

"I wanted to see you?"

"While I look like a wet rat?"

"What're you saying? You look beautiful." George said quickly, blushing hard, as he realised what he had just said.

"What." I said calmly, and confused.

"Uh, nothing. Just get up. You're breakfast is getting cold." He said as he awkwardly walked out. I quickly got dressed. I tried to dry my hair with a towel, I gave up and just wrapped a towel around my head and went downstairs.

I immediately got stares as I walked in.

"Why are you wet?" Ron asked, looking at my towel.

"She took a shower obviously." Percy said smartly.

"No, she took one last night." Ginny said.

"She's not hiding Voldemort under there is she?" Fred asked laughing.

"Ask George." I said as I sat down.

"George, did you do that?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"He did it to wake me up. Mrs. Weasley asked him to." George sunk into his seat at the sound of my words.

"I didn't ask him to wake you up." Mrs. Weasley said as she glared at George, who was now really pink.

"Just go ahead and eat, we have to leave in fifteen minutes." Mr. Weasley said as he eyed George with suspicion.

I ate my breakfast quickly, but highly confused. I don't know why George would have thrown a bucket with cold water at me to wake me up, which he apparently wasn't supposed to do.

I also wondered why he said I was beautiful when I looked like a rodent who just crawled out of a loo, although I didn't mind that he had said it. I felt warm and tingly inside when he had said that. But I probably would have done that if anyone said that. I don't know, it just confused me.

George walked into his room and begun packing his things.

"Hey, Georgie, what was with Hermione being wet this morning?" Fred asked, George didn't want to answer, for he himself didn't know why he did it.

"What'd you do to her?" He asked, anxious for an answer.

"I just woke her up with a bucket of cold water." George said finally.

"Really? But why'd you go into Ginny's room when you're not allowed in there." Fred asked.

George tensed up, but just replied,

"Y'know she was just sleeping there so peacefully. I had the urge to ruin it." He said quickly as he closed his bag.

"Nice. She seemed mad." Fred said as he too closed his bag.

"She did, didn't she?" George said with a small, fake, laugh.

George grabbed his bag and walked out of the room, and he saw me having struggles with my bag, so he came over to help me,

"Here, let me help you." He said as he put his hand on mine, trying to grab the bag and pull it.

I liked the feeling of his hand, oddly enough, and I wanted him to keep it there, I don't know why. Maybe it was because how soft his hand was when he had put it there, I don't know, I just knew that I enjoyed it. I really didn't want to think about it, but I found that I couldn't stop thinking about it.

He turned pink again, and said,

"Sorry."

And grabbed the bag and turned and looked at me, but when I turned to him, he quickly looked back and took my bags downstairs.

I noticed he still had his bag by the door, so I just took the bag and walked down. But when I ran down I ran into him,

"Ow."

"Oh, sorry." He said as he looked at me and smiled,

"You didn't need to get my bag, I could've gotten it myself, unless you wanted to show off again, Miss Granger."

I loved when he called me Miss Granger, it sounded kind and sweet, and respectful.

I guess I liked it because he wasn't respectful towards anyone most of the time.

"Well I couldn't just let you take my bags and leave yours. I do have my own strength, you know." I said smiling, getting lost in his bright green eyes.

I just shook my head to get out of it,

"You mind letting me through?" I said.

"Oh, of course." He said as he got out of

the way.

It took about two or three more minutes before everyone was ready,

"Okay, let's go." Mr. Weasley said as we took our bags and walked out to where the cars that he had rented were.

George tried to put my bag in,

"George Weasley! I can put my own bag in the trunk, thank you very much!"

"I don't know, Hermione. Are you strong enough to carry it?" I got annoyed, so I took the bag, dropped it on his foot.

"Ow, Hermione!" He said as he jumped up and down holding his toe.

"That wasn't very bright, Georgie." Fred said.

"No, Georgie. It wasn't." I said jokingly as I stepped into the car with Ron and Harry.

"Ron, your brother's an idiot." I said as I buckled up.

"Which one?" He said laughing.

It was a long ride to the middle of what it seemed to be the middle of nowhere,

"We have to walk from here," Mr. Weasley said as we groaned loudly,

"up there's a Portkey that will teleport us to the campsite. Now, it'll be hard to find. It's disguised as rubbish, so Muggles won't go and pick it up. And there will be Muggles will be around, so do not do any funny business!" He said sternly as we began to walk.

I was out of breath really quickly, it was hard carrying my own weight along with my luggage.

George noticed me struggling again,

"Can't carry your suitcase now can you, Miss Granger?" I scowled at him and he just laughed.

It seems like it was five hours until we got there,

"Two hours, finally made it." Ron said.

Didn't feel like two hours, that's for sure.

"Hello, Arthur." A tall, brown haired man said as we approached.

"Hello, Amos. Cedric," Mr. Weasley said to the man and his son, "Going to the Quidditch World Cup I suppose."

"Sure are, rooting for Ireland, right Ced?" Mr. Diggory said to his tall, dark haired son, who nodded.

"I guess we'd better go," Mr. Weasley said, "now everyone, grab a hand, and do not let go!" He said as he grabbed Ginny's hand.

I had Harry one one side, and I grabbed his hand, but on the other side was...

"George," I said shyly, "come on."

He looked at me confused.

"Come on." I said again.

He didn't grab my hand, so I quickly grabbed his hand, fingers intertwined. I felt a chill down my back and I stood up at the feeling of his warm hand, and I felt comfortable and tingly. He looked at me and said with a toothless smile

"You okay, 'mione?"

"Yeah, just don't look at me." I said.

"What d'ya mean? You can't keep your eyes off of me, Miss Granger." He said laughing,

"You little-"

I was stopped, we teleported and it felt like a swish of cold air, all I could see was light blue and whiteswishing around me.

And suddenly there we were, standing there, once again in the middle of nowhere, but this place had no trees. Everyone had let go of eachother's hands, that I noticed.

But I looked down and saw that George had not let go, and at the same time, neither had I...

... To be continued...


	4. Pitching The Tent

I could have kept my hand there, enclosed in his warm hand. I just smiled, and I didn't know why it was so comfortable, it just was.

"You two gonna keep holding hands?" Fred asked, laughing.

George looked at his hand, he didn't want to pull his hand away either. I decided just to pull it away, and he just looked at me. I looked at him. What are you doing? Ithought to myself. At this point I was very much confused.

I do not like George, I think. He has no regard for the rules, and he is disrespectful.

In fact I believe I might loathe him, well, more of his disrespectful behavior. So why did I like the feeling of his hand? Surely I'd feel the same way if I held anyone else's hand.

I decided to test this theory, so I grabbed Harry's hand. Harry looked at me confused,

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"I'm testing something," I said, "Okay, thanks." I said as I let go of his hand.

He looked at me if I had lost my mind.

I did, however discover something, I didn't feel the same when holding Harry's hand.

I think this is because he is my best friend.

I don't know, I just did not want to think about it. Besides, there were more important things,

"Okay, up there is the guy who will give us our campsite. He is a Muggle, so act normal."

I didn't know what Mr. Weasley meant by acting naturally, but both Harry and I gave him an odd look as he attempted to act like a Muggle.

"Why are wizards staying at this place when it is surrounded by Muggles?" Ron whispered, as Mr Weasley spoke to the man, named Mr. Rogers.

When Mr. Weasley had finished talking, he said,

"Okay, this way."

And the Muggle man took us to a gate and unlocked it,

"About thirty six tents and to your right."

"Thank you." Mr. Weasley said as he led us through trees, passing other eager wizards. There were wizards from all around the world, it was quite amazing to see all these different cultures. But because there were so many people, it took us a while to find our campsite,

"Here we go. Let's unpack."

"Dad. Where are we s'posed to sleep?" Ron asked, although Mr. Weasley had mentioned it a few times.

"We're going to pitch a tent. George, Fred, you mind pulling them out of the bag?"

The Weasleys didn't know how to pitch a tent correctly, I was Muggle-born, along with Harry and had been camping before. But Harry hadn't been camping but once, but he could still help.

I taught the Weasleys how to pitch a tent.

"This is too hard." Ron whined as he tried to put the stake into the dirt.

"Ron's a baby." Fred said.

"Am not!"

"Are too."

"You're lying."

"No, you are!" Fred said as he pushed Ron on the ground to where he really was lying, but not in the same way.

"Fred, don't push your brother!" Mr. Weasley said as he lifted up the tarp.

Fred shrugged.

"Bloody idiot." Ron said under his breath as he got up.

It took us a lot longer to get the tent up than what it would have if it were my family pitching a tent. Even though the tent took forever to put up, it was really small from the outside, and I didn't know how we'd all fit. But then we walked inside. It was not only huge, but it included a kitchen, a room for Ginny and I, two for the boys, and a bathroom.

It also had a table and chairs in the kitchen, and unlike the Burrow, had all of the same chairs.

"Okay, girls in that room," Mr. Weasley said as he pointed to the smallest room.

"Fred, George, Ron, and Harry, you sleep there," he said pointing at the next biggest room, "and Bill, Charlie, Percy, and I will sleep there." He said pointing at the last room that was the same size at the previous one.

I went into mine and Ginny's room and began to unpack.

"I'll take this bed," she said as she sat down on the bed closest to the door,

"Is that alright?"

"Yeah. It's fine." I said taking out my sleeping bag that I had from Ginny's room.

It was now a little before noon once everyone unpacked.

"What do you want to do?" Ron asked as he walked out of his room with Harry.

"We could walk around and see if we can find anyone from Hogwarts." Harry suggested.

"That's fine." I said.

We were about to step out of the tent when,

"Oh you guys don't expect to leave without a grown up." Fred said, smirking.

"Who knows what you four would be up to without mature adults." George said as Ginny scoffed.

"You've got to be joking. You two make more mischief together than all four of us combined." I said as I crossed my arms.

"You know you love it, Miss Granger." George said as he put his finger under my chin.

I slapped his hand away,

"You're going to get us kicked out of here." I yelled at George and Fred who stepped outside.

"Maybe we will," Fred said.

"Maybe we won't," George said with a wink.

"Let's just go. And try to ignore them." Ron said starting to walk.

As we walked, we saw many tents covered either with red, white, and green for Bulgaria or green and gold for Ireland.

There were so many wizards from all around the globe including France, Germany, America, China, Japan, Bulgaria, Ireland, etc. it took a while before we saw some familiar faces- Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas from Gryffindor.

"Hey, Harry!" Seamus said as he waved.

We walked over to their tent, that was full with green Ireland posters and four leaf clovers. They obviously were rooting for Ireland, which is where Seamus was originally from.

"Who are you all rooting for?" Dean asked.

"Ireland, I hope." Seamus' mother said as she put up green lights.

"Yeah." Said Harry.

We talked for a while before we left. We started to walk again, and once we got back, two men were in our tent,

"This is Barty Crouch." Said Percy almost instantly.

"That's the guy Percy's obsessed with." Ron whispered into my ear.

"And this is Ludo Bagman." Mr. Weasley said.

Harry and Ron instantly knew who he was, apparently he was a famous Quidditch player who played for the Wimbourne Wasps, which wasn't hard to tell for he was wearing his old uniform.

"Like a cup of tea, Mr. Crouch?" Percy asked.

"Yes, thank you, Weatherby." Mr. Crouch replied.

Percy may have looked up to Barty Crouch, but he hadn't even managed to learn Percy's name, yet alone his last name.

We sat down and talked a while. Ludo Bagman began to speak,

"What do you say, Arthur?" He said.

"Okay, a galleon on Ireland." Mr. Weasley said.

"That's all? Any other takers?" Ludo asked.

"We'll bet thirty-seven Galleons, fifteen Sickles and three Knuts." Fred said as he and George pulled out a bag of money.

"That Ireland wins, but Krum gets the snitch. Well also throw a free wand in there." George said.

"Oh, all in, aren't we?" Bagman said excitedly.

"I accept." He said as he shook their hands.

It started to get dark and you could hear a raucous sound outside,

"I hope you all brought money, they're selling stuff outside." Mr. Weasley said after we all ran outside.

There were carts outside selling Bulgarian and Ireland merchandise from one end to the other. It was so cool, now everyone was out of their tents.

"Can't buy anything because you were too busy gambling!" I said to George as I tried on a green hat with a four-leaf clover.

"You look good in green, too bad you weren't in Slytherin. You've sure got an attitude like them." He said as I growled at him.

I turned around and bought the hat. I looked around the sweet cart and saw a green and white sucker that swirled on its own, and I grabbed it and paid for it,

"You want it, George?" I asked.

"Yeah." He said as his face lit up.

"Okay." I said as I smirked.

I stuck the whole lollipop in my mouth and then shoved it in his.

"You're welcome. That's what you get for gambling, Weasley." I said.

"You're very cruel, Hermione." He said as he took the lollipop out of his mouth, spitting.

"That's Miss Granger to you, George Weasley." I said as I turned around proudly, walking with my head up.

He just looked as I walked, quite impressed, I was the only girl, or person, who was younger than him to tell him what to do.

Yes, I'll boss him, he's always messed with me, it's my turn to do the same to him. This is going to be a fun year, he better watch his back that Weasley...

... To be continued...


	5. Quidditch World Cup

I teased George for a while at the carts,  
"Hmm, look at that scarf, red, green and white for Bulgaria, looks nice, doesn't it? You want to buy it? Oh wait..." I said smirking.

I understood why George and Fred loved joking around so much. It was really fun to tease George.  
I took the scarf and wrapped it around his neck.  
"Y'know, red looks good on you." I said still smirking.

"You should know that, I do have red hair." He said smiling.

"Do you want this scarf, Weasley?" I asked him.

"Yeah, are you going to lick it and stick in my mouth?" George asked.

"Depends on how it tastes." I said jokingly.  
I gave a couple sickles to the woman at the cart to pay for the scarf.  
"Whoa, Hermione, you didn't need to pay for that for me." He said appreciatively.

"Nah, it's fine. Either you win the bet and buy me something of equal price or I use the scarf to choke you." I said pointing at him.

"I knew that there was a catch..." He said as I shrugged and walked forward.

We stood there for about ten more minutes until Mr. Weasley came and got us for dinner, we had to go to bed soon, the Cup would start early tomorrow.  
We all walked back to the tent with our new merchandise.

"Who got you that scarf, George? Didn't you use up all your money?" Asked Charlie.  
"I did. And Hermione gave it to me." George said as he looked at me.

"Why would you do that, Hermione?" Ron asked.

"I told him that he better pay me back or I'll use the scarf to choke him." I said as everyone started to laugh.

"It wasn't very bright for you boys to gamble." Mr. Weasley said as he took a bite of toast.

"Nah, it will be fine, Bagman's just got to watch his back with our free wand." Fred said laughing.

After dinner I got dressed into my pajamas and went back into the living room.

"Are you gonna take a shower?" Ginny asked as I sat down on the floor.

"George already gave me one." I said.

Ginny widened her eyes as though she was about to scream. Everyone was staring at me, I felt very uncomfortable suddenly.

"... When he poured cold water on me this morning." I said motioning my hands.

"Ohhhhhh!" They all said in unison.

"You scared me there, Hermione." Fred said, breathing hard, "I thought you and George were getting busy."

"Ew, Fred!" I said as I threw my pillow at him.  
"This Granger needs to stop throwing stuff!" He said as he took my pillow and examined it, "I'm keeping this now." He said hugging my pillow.  
I walked up to him and grabbed it,  
"Give it back, you weasel! My grandmum made it for me!" I yelled tugging hard at the edge of the pillow.

"It's Weasl-E, Granger. Say it with me, Weez-lee!" He pronounced, still pulling on the pillow.

"Come on! My grandmum took three years to stitch this!" I yelled, continuing to tug.

"Ah, how sweet. Must make it harder when it rips into two!" He said as he "accidentally" let go.  
"Oops!" He said sarcastically.

I had fallen directly onto George,  
"Oh, sorry. Your ruddy brother-"

"I don't know, Hermione, but I think you just fell for me." He said, laughing.

He grabbed my arms to pull me off. I tensed up, and moved his hand off of me and sat to the empty spot behind him awkwardly, and tightened my grip on my pillow.  
It was awkward, very awkward, and I wished that stupid Fred had just given the pillow to me.

I felt uncomfortable the rest of the night in my bed, looking at the ceiling, listening to Charlie's snores.  
I still clenched my pillow with the letters '_HG_' stitched on it standing for my initials.  
I was excited for the Quidditch Cup, and that helped me try to ignore what happened tonight. And that also helped me fall asleep.

I was woken up once again by a bucket of water, but this time it was Ginny,  
"Thought it was George? I'm sorry, it's just me." She said as she put the bucket down.

"I'd rather have you than him." I said wiping my face free from water.

"Would you?" She said as she made her bed.

"What do you mean?" I asked curiously.

"It looks like you fancy him." She said focusing on her bed.

"Fancy him! It's official, you've all gone mental." I said as Ginny glared at me.

"Why would you think that?" I asked getting out of my bed.

"I don't know maybe because you held his hand-"

"I was supposed to."

"Or the fact that you bought him a scarf-"

"He's repaying me."

"Or you always look into his eyes."  
I was mad at Ginny, and I couldn't find words, I didn't know that anyone noticed me doing that.  
I just got mad and found myself yelling,  
"I DO NOT LIKE HIM!" I yelled so loud that people outside our tent glanced at me with a confused and concerned look.  
I sat down on my bed embarrassed,  
"Okay, okay. I believe you, but even if you don't, I think he does."

"Ginny..."

"What?"

"Don't tell me this!" I said as I plopped my back on my bed.

"Why?"

"Because he's always annoying me. I don't even want to think about that."

"I know, I wouldn't want to think about it either, he's not very attractive-"

"I didn't say he wasn't attractive..."

Ginny suddenly stopped making her bed.

"What did you just say?" She said as she put her hands on her hips somewhat like her mum does.

"Nothing. I didn't." I said as I covered my face.  
"He's not attractive. I didn't mean to say that. I was thinking of someone else." I lied.

"Oh really? Who?"

I thought for a moment, who would be believable?  
"Uhh..." I finally found someone,  
"Percy! Yeah, I was talking about Percy." I lied intensely.

I tolerated Percy more than any of the Weasley boys, but I didn't like him, but I didn't like George either, so I didn't know why I said he was attractive.  
"Okay..."

"I know it's weird."

"I don't judge." She said putting her pillows up.

"You know we're leaving after the match, so you're supposed to pack up your bed." I said as Ginny threw her head back and groaned. I laughed at her frustration.

It was finally time to go to the match. We walked up to the box where we are supposed to sit to watch.  
I sat down and George sat down beside me. I groaned.  
"Whats wrong, Miss Granger? Afraid you're going to get distracted from the match and look at this hot body?" He laughed.  
I have him a disgusted look.  
I noticed in the seat beside Harry, a house elf with big brown eyes and big ears, somewhat like Dobby.  
"Hello." Harry said to the house-elf.

"Hello." The elf said in a high-pitched voice.

"What is your name?" I asked the house-elf.

"My name's Winky." She said as she kicked her feet back and forth.

"You going to watch the Quidditch World Cup?" Harry asked, he asked this because house elves have masters who they wait after.  
I never liked that. Most house elves don't have this freedom,  
"No sir, Winky's saving a seat for her master. Bartemius Crouch."

"Barty Crouch is your master?"

"Yes sir- Y-you're Harry Potter." She said pointing at his scar.

"Yes, I am." He said as he sat back into his chair.

The match was about to start when,  
"Look father, the blood traitors brought Potter and that Mudblood." It was Draco Malfoy, his father and his mother, who I had never seen before.  
She had blonde hair just like her husband and her son,  
"What are you doing here, Malfoy?" Ron asked, standing up.

"Watching the Quidditch World Cup, surprised you could afford these seats. Must have to sell everything you own to afford even a Galleon."

"Why I oughta-" Ron said as he started at Malfoy before Harry and I siezed his arms.

"Surprised they let a Mudblood in the stadium." I could feel anger filling up my body.  
George stood up to Malfoy.  
"How about you leave her alone, Malfoy?" He said sternly.

"Like I am going to listen to a _Weasley_."

"She's better than you'll ever be! You're low, Malfoy. She has one thing you don't, a heart." He said as he got closer to Malfoy, looking as though he was about to pounce on him.

"You call her that again and you lose your tongue!" George said threateningly.

"Come on, Draco, just sit down." His mum said as she pulled him down into his seat.

Draco scowled at George, who sat down proudly.

"George?"

"Yeah."

I smiled,  
"Thank you."  
His frown disappeared and formed into a smile,  
"No problem, Miss Granger."

The team for Bulgaria came up first,  
"Harry! Harry! It's _Krum! _It'sViktorKrum!" Ron said excitedly when the tall, bulky Bulgarian seeker came out along with the rest of his team.  
Behind the time were these women, although they didn't seem like women, they seemed to be a woman, but not, they didn't act like a normal woman.

"Veela," Mr. Weasley said.

At that point I think all the men were rooting for Bulgaria.  
Yeah, they were attractive, but I've seen better.  
Before they stopped staring at the Veela, Ireland's team came out, and behind them were leprechauns which were holding pots of gold, and they threw thousands of golden coins into the air.  
Ron was catching as many coins as he could and hiding them in his pockets.

"This good enough for you?" Came George's voice, he was holding a handful of gold, referring to paying me back for the scarf.

"That's leprechaun gold, it's disappears after a few hours. But nice try."He scowled quietly and dropped his coins onto the ground.

"It was worth a try." He said before sitting in his seat.

The match was intense, screaming fans jumping up and down.  
Ireland was winning, but one of their players was injured, so I was anxious to see what would happen. So far the score was 10-170 Ireland was killing Bulgaria.  
And then Krum, Bulgaria's seeker, scooped down and had golden wings visible from between his fingers- he had caught the golden snitch!  
"He's got it Krum's got it! BULGARIA'S GOT THE SNITCH! But Ireland wins! Odd outcome!" I could tell by Ludo Bagman's voice that he was not ready to pay Fred and George, for what they gambled for had come true. I was not expecting for them to lose in the first place, but I didn't know that there was going to be such a weird and interesting outcome.  
And before I knew it I was off of my feet, George had picked me up and swung me around excitedly.  
"Uh. George, what're you doing?" I said laughing.

"Oh, my bad." He said as he put me down.

"He's excited that we get money from Bagman. You still disagree with us gambling, Granger?" Fred screamed trying to talk over the cheering fans.

"Yeah, it's still wrong." I remarked  
They both shrugged.

I could see many hopeful and happy faces and many angry and annoyed faces once we got down to the campsite.  
But, sadly all of this was stopped by a sound of screaming wizards, retreating into the woods quickly.

"Why are they running?" Ginny yelled.  
And then we saw them, people, hooded people, levitating the Rogers family, the Muggle family who owned the campsite, over the campsite, in their night clothes.

"Dad, what's going on?" Ron asked nervously.

"Just go and run into the woods. And stay together!" He yelled as we started into the woods.

"What about you?" Fred screamed.

"I'll be fine! _GO!__"_

We ran as fast as we could into the woods.  
Quickly out of breath, I tripped and sprained my ankle very painfully. I could not walk, and everyone else had already gone. Well, almost everyone.

"Hermione!" George came running after me.

"No! Go on! They'll get you."

"I'm not leaving you."  
"You're mental!"

"I don't care I'm not leaving you." He said as he sat by my side, trying to help me...

... To be continued...


	6. In The Woods

"George... I can't move, I've sprained my ankle." I said as I held my ankle, people running past us almost running into our backs.

"I can't get up." I said as one of the French girls from Beauxbatons' nearly kneed me in the back.

"I don't know what I'm going to do. I can't just leave you here." George said.

"Yes you can. I'll be fine you go on."

"I'm not going to do that."

"Why not?"

He didn't answer.

"George?"

"I've got an idea."

"What?" And before I knew it, George had picked me up in his arms.

"What are y-"

"Just go with it." He said as I put my arms around his neck.

It was magical. Like a superhero saving a damsel in distress, and all I could do was look into his eyes as he took me through the woods.

"I got you, Hermione." He said looking down at me.

All I could do was smile.

He ran for about thirty minutes before he stopped.

I felt so bad, he was so out of breath, but it was very sweet of him to carry me so far.

He set me down on a rock and made a pillow out of leaves to rest my ankle on. He sat down beside me, still breathing hard.

"I'm sorry." I said, looking at him.

"For what?"

"For you having to run this far and carry me along the way."

"No, I wouldn't have done it if I didn't want to." George said, I smiled slightly.

It was quiet for a while, most of the wizards had gone; it was just me and George. I sat there, looking at my ankle and thinking.

"What do we need to do?" I asked.

"I don't know, I guess we just sit here until someone tells us that it's safe to come back." He replied.

"Oh." I said.

I sat there for a while, just looking around and I noticed something, George was still wearing the scarf I had given him, which would've been hard to keep up with with all this insane rubbish going on.

"You're still wearing it." I said softly.

"What?" He replied, looking at his scarf, "oh, yeah."

It wasn't much, but I liked that he had kept it on.

And all of the sudden I was scared out of my mind. And I shaked slightly.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Oh, nothing." I lied, rubbing my ankle.

"Hermione I've known you for a while now. I can tell that something's bothering you."

"Fine," I said leaning back, "what was that thing, in the sky?"

When George had carried me through the woods, I looked up and heard a sound somewhat like a cannon.

I noticed in the sky a green skull with a snake coming out of the mouth.

"It reminded me of something, that snake.

I heard about it a while ago from dad. I think it's what Death Eaters use to contact You-Know-Who."

"So does that mean he's back?" I asked nervously.

"I don't know." He said, wanting to ignore the idea.

No one said anything for a while, and I was becoming very tired.

"Do you think we'll have to sleep here?" I asked.

"I hope not, this rock is digging into my back." He said as we both softly laughed,

"Hermione?"

"Yeah?"

"You have a caterpillar in your hair." I started screaming Get it off! Get it off! George finally got it out of my hair laughing, and I started laughing too. When it stopped, I spoke once again,

"I wonder where everyone is, I hope they're okay." I said.

"I'm sure they're okay. As long as you're okay, I'll be content." I blushed red in my cheeks.

"Why are you being so nice to me? You're usually making fun of me." I asked as I turned to him, looking for an answer.

"I don't know. You're my little brother's best friend, and you're like a..."

"A what?"

"I don't know, I just feel like I need to protect you. Plus I'm afraid you'll hex me." He said jokingly, followed by a soft laugh.

I laughed as well,

"Sorry about that."

"Nah. It's fine, I was enjoying it."

I just sat there smiling.

I had noticed George was looking at me,

"You have a beautiful smile."

I felt happy inside, and I blushed really red when he said that.

"Thanks." I said as I put my hair behind my ears awkwardly.

I sat there quiet again for a while.

I shivered as I felt a cool breeze against my arms.

"It's kind of cold out here." I said rubbing my arms.

"Oh, here." George said as he took off his jacket.

"Oh, you don't have to do that, now you'll be cold." I said as he put his jacket on me.

"No, it's my pleasure, Miss Granger."

I smiled looking down at his jacket.

He began to take off his scarf,

"No, you keep it. I bought it just for you."

"I'll have to pay you back anyway."

"No."

"But-"

"No."

He stopped for a second,

"I'm still going to pay you back."

I decided not to argue with him while he was being arrogant.

"It's getting late." He said softly looking at the sky.

"It's beautiful." I said.

He looked at me and smiled,

"Yes it is."

Not much longer, I leaned on his shoulder, and I closed my eyes slowly, happy thoughts dancing in my head.

The Next Day:

"George! Hermione! Where are you?" I stood woke up, and I must have forgotten that my ankle was sprained, so it hurt intensely.

George was still asleep. I couldn't wake him up when I just said his name, so I shook him, no budge. I eventually slapped him.

"OW! What the bloody hell, Hermione!"

I just smirked and stood up on one foot and said,

"Time to wake up, Mister Weasley!"

Ron and Charlie came around towards us.

"Hermione! Where have you been? We've been looking for you everywhere!" Ron muttered.

"What am I? Chopped liver."

I was surprised George used that line, I had mostly heard it at my old Muggle school. I didn't know wizards who knew that line.

"Hermione, what happened?" Charlie said as noticed me limping.

"I tripped and sprained my ankle,"

"Then how'd you get here?" Ron asked.

"Uh..." It was kind of awkward now that I thought about it,

"George carried me." I said scratching my head, slightly embarrassed.

"Getting a little romantic, aren't we, Georgie?" Fred said as he approached from behind a tree.

"Rubbish, she couldn't go limping the rest of the way, so it was the only adhesive."

"Adhesive? Thats an odd wording." Fred said, smirking.

"Shut up, Fred." George said getting up.

"Well, we have to get back home, you all are going to Hogwarts tomorrow." Charlie said.

"How is she supposed to walk?"

"George can carry her again."

"Why don't to do it, Fred?" I said jokingly.

"All right, Granger!" And he picked me up. I did not want to be carried again, and not by him.

"Fred?"

"Yeah, Granger?"

"Put me down." He scoffed and put me down, on my bad ankle,

"OW! FRED!"

"SORRY!" He screamed.

"Madame Pomfrey should be able to fix that when you get there tomorrow." Charlie said, referring to my ankle.

"Well, we could look for long sticks for her to lean on,"

"To use as crutches."

They all looked at me as though I lost my mind.

"That's what Muggles use to walk when they've broken a bone in their leg."

"Oh..." They all said in unison.

They all looked around for sticks that were strong enough and tall enough to hold me.

"Here's one!" Ron said, holding a long stick in the air.

"Here, 'mione." He said as he gave me a stick that fit perfectly under my arm.

"Here's another one." Fred said, giving me another stick that was a little bit taller, but good enough.

"Thanks." I said.

"Anytime, Granger, anytime." Fred said with a wink, I just growled at him.

I started walking, hard to do with these crutches. No one really talked except for George and Fred whispering about their Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. I just looked at George, and thought about how he carried me through the woods, and how Ginny believed that he fancied me. Was it true? Did George like me? Did he fancy me? I didn't believe these words as they can into my mind, but somehow, I wanted to...

... To be continued...


	7. Returning

George's POV:

I felt bad for Hermione, she was doing her best to keep a grip on the sticks that we gave her,

"Ow, it's jabbing into my arm." She whined,

"You know I could always carry you again." I said jokingly,

I would if I had to again, she didn't weigh that much and I enjoyed carrying her through the woods.

One time her sticks made her trip over a rock, and she face planted in the mud, and we all started laughing,

"Are you alright?" I said still laughing,

"Why don't you just leave me here? I look like a muddy toad under here."

"Nonsense." I said as I helped her up,

she did have a lot of mud on her face, but that didn't change her from being beautiful,

"Just don't look at me." She said, trying to cover her face,

it was hard not to though,

"I think you look good with mud, Granger."

"Don't." She said sternly,

"Here," I said as I grabbed my scarf and wiped off the mud on her face,

"Now your scarf is muddy!"

"I don't care."

"I do! I'm the one who bought it for you!"

"I'll wear it anyway, it reminds me of when you face planted in the mud."

"Don't flatter yourself." She said, still trying to walk with her sticks, this time without falling.

We were almost to the tent, and other wizards started coming into view,

"What happened?" Ginny said, looking at Hermione and her stick crutches or whatever you called them,

"I tripped while trying to run. George had to carry me into the woods."

"Is that why you're wearing his jacket?"

I had forgotten that she was still wearing my jacket, and I could see her turning pink,

"Yeah. I didn't notice that before." Ron said looking at my jacket on Hermione's body,

"Oh... Uh, right..." She said awkwardly.

I don't know, but she really worked wearing it, I might even let her keep it,

"Um, here." She said, trying to take off the jacket, but she just fell in my arms trying to get it off,

"You really need to stop falling for me, Granger." I said, laughing,

"Not helping, George."

"Just keep it on."

"No."

"Why?"

"Because it's your jacket."

"I don't care."

"I'm taking it off."

"No you're not, you're just going to fall in the mud again."

"I don't care."

"Just wear it."

"No."

"Yes!"

"Hermione, for the love of Merlin, just wear the bloody jacket!" I screamed so loud that I think wizards in China could hear me,

"Ugh, fine."

"Looks good on you anyway." I said with a wink,

"Don't start this again, Weasley." She said pointing at me and scowling.

She is so in love with me.

Once we finally got home, mum ran up and hugged us all,

"Oh! I missed you!" She said squeezing the air out of us,

"How was the Quidditch World Cup?"

"You haven't heard?" Fred asked, thinking about the Dark Mark in the sky,

"No, what happened?"

"Here, come outside with me." Dad said walking Mum outside of the house and onto the... Porch?

"What happened last night with you?" Hermione asked Harry and Ron,

"I dropped my wand, and someone used it to make the Dark Mark in the sky, they thought it was me."

"Do they know who it was?"

"I don't think they're certain, but Mr. Crouch fired his house-elf, Winky, who was a suspect because she had been near my wand. She was hysterical, screaming, wailing, so upset."

"That's awful! They have no respect to house-elves!"

Harry just ignored that,

"But they're trying to figure out what happened."

"So, if the Dark Mark was shot into the air to contact You-Know-Who, does that mean he has returned?" Hermione asked curiously,

"I don't know, but all I know is there are Death Eaters out there, trying to find Voldemort-"

"Don't say his name!" Yelled Ron, who looked quite nervous,

"Sorry. They're trying to find You-Know-Who and where he is hiding."

"So he's still out there?"

"I think he's just a spirit, the last times we had seen him he wasn't in a human form, so he's going to look for someone, for me."

Everyone gasped,

"How do you know that?" Percy asked in disbelief,

"I heard it in my dream, and when my scar hurts, it usually means that he's close. I've always believed he's been after me." Harry said, now nervous,

"You'll be safe as long as you're with Dumbledore," Bill said, "You-Know-Who's always feared him." Harry nodded.

This was a very serious situation... You-Know-Who could possibly return. Everyone was frightened. But tomorrow was our first day back at Hogwarts, surely it'll be safe when we're with Dumbledore. But it was really scary, and I could see Hermione hugging her knees, looking nervous,

"It's okay, Granger." I said, putting my arm around her,

"I know." She said softly, resting her head on my shoulder, still shaking from being nervous. It was nice, being there to comfort her.

Sorry, I know that this is a short chapter! But I'll have a new one up as soon as I can! Thank you so much for reading, I really appreciate it. 3 -HufflepuffQuidditch1

... To be continued...


	8. Crossing King's Cross

**Hermione's** **POV**:

"Get up! You're going to be late!" Came Mrs. Weasley's voice.

"We overslept!" Yelled Ginny, checking the clock.

"Your father's already taken the trunks, hurry up and get dressed!" Mrs. Weasley said as she walked outside.

I was so tired when I got up, but I woke up quickly on account that I was going to be late to King's Cross.

I stretched my arms as I yawned once I was outside walking to the car. Mr. Weasley must have had the cars from the Ministry still, because there they were, engines revving.  
My vision was blurry, because I was still so tired and my eyes hadn't adjusted yet.

"Come on, hurry, let's go!" Mrs. Weasley yelled as she stepped into the other car.

I stepped into the car with Mr. Weasley, George, Fred, and Ginny.  
I rested my head on the window.

"Tired, Granger?" George asked on my side.

"Nah, I'm just yawning because I'm bored." I said sarcastically.  
George not understanding sarcasm, said, "Oh."

"Of course I'm tired."

"You can rest on the way there, Hermione." Mr. Weasley told me.

"Can I have your jacket, George?" I asked, not knowing how odd it sounded.

"Uh, sure." George said, looking at Fred, who shrugged.

"It's probably been a few weeks since he's cleaned it." Ginny said.

"I don't care at this point. I'm too tired to care." I said, taking George's jacket and putting it on.

I rested my head on George's shoulder, not recognizing that I had done so.  
"You okay, 'mione?" George asked softly.

"Mmhmm." I muttered half-awake, positioning myself into a comfortable position. And before long I found myself falling asleep...

"Hermione?" Mrs. Weasley said softly shaking me slightly, as I opened one eye.

"Hmm?" I said, trying to wake up.

"We're here, you can get up now." She said kindly, smiling.

"Okay, thank you Mrs. Weasley." I said, rubbing my eyes and standing up out of the car.

I was covering my eyes from the light and the scene slowly into focus,  
"Come on, it's about to leave!" Ginny said, pulling my arm.

"Bye!" Bill said, waving.

"I hope to see you soon at, well, guess I can't say." Mrs. Weasley said with a wink.

"You might have to dance..." Charlie muttered.

"Wonder what the first one is." Bill said, continuing to wave.

"What are they talking about?" Harry asked as we pulled out of the station.

"I don't know." Ron said with a shrug.

"Still tired, Hermie?" Fred asked as I hugged my knees and leaned against the side of the compartment,

"Not as much. And never call me Hermie again." I said sternly.

"What about Herminny?" Asked George.

"No, unless you're going to say my real name, I'm going to disagree."

"Alright, Grangey." George said, smiling.

"George Weasley, I swear."

"It's not nice to swear, Hermie."

"I said don't call me that!"

I was about to slap the freckles off that Weasley when the compartment door opened.  
"Uh..." It was Neville, "Has anyone, uh, seen Trevor?" He asked Nervously.

"You lost your bloody toad again?" Ron said in disbelief.

"Uh, yeah..." Neville said embarrassed.

"It's okay, Neville." I said, standing up.

"Just go look for him. You'll be fine as long as Malfoy doesn't touch him."

"I would disagree, but I can't really, can I?" Malfoy said at the door, smirking.

"Leave him alone, Malfoy." Harry said.

"Shut it, Potter," he said as he smirked  
"what is _that?" _Malfoy said pointing at Ron's hand-me-down dress robes.

"None of your business, Malfoy!" Harry said as Ron awkwardly hid his dress robes.

"Too bad you have to wear that to the-" Malfoy said putting his hand over his mouth, "I've said too much." he said smirking.  
He began to survey me, where I gave him a disgusted look.

"That looks a little bit too big on you, Granger."  
I had forgotten that I hadn't taken George's jacket off.

"Uh, yeah."

I didn't know what to say,  
"Can't be your jacket. So, whose is it?" He asked grimacing.

I just sat there wondering what to say, hoping someone would talk.  
I looked at George who looked slightly nervous.

It would spread around Hogwarts faster than Harry's Firebolt flying around the Quidditch Pitch if he heard that I was wearing George Weasley's jacket. And I didn't want anyone to know.  
But luckily someone finally said something,

"It's mine." Harry said standing up.

"Ah, Potter's getting comfortable with Granger, isn't he?"

I slammed the door on him becoming annoyed.

"Thanks, Harry." I said awkwardly.

"Yeah, no problem. But he's going to make up a lot of things about us, you know." He said.

"Yeah, but we're just friends. Nothing to worry about. He can think what he wants."

"Whose jacket is it then?"

I forgot Neville was still here.  
"Oh, uh."

Neville and I were pretty good friends, so I thought it was okay to tell him,  
"It's George's." I said pointing at George, but failing because the sleeves were so long, that they covered my fingers.

"Why are you wearing his jacket?" He asked, confused.

"Uh... IT DOESN'T MATTER!"  
It shouted, getting frightened stares.  
I took off George's jacket and threw it to him.  
George looked hurt at me.  
I sat down angrily on my seat and stared at the ground with my arms crossed.

"Umm, okay..." Neville said, not comprehending exactly what had just happened, "I'm just going to look for Trevor..." He said as he walked out of the compartment awkwardly.

Everyone looked at me confused,  
"_WHAT_!" I screamed.

It was about three more hours until we finally got to Hogsmeade station.  
I stepped off, and must have forgotten that I had hurt my ankle, so I tripped getting off and fell flat on my face.  
"So it's not always me?" Neville said looking at me with my face now engraved in the pavement, slightly drawing blood.

"Need ter watch those steps, 'ermione." It was Hagrid, "they're tricky." He said, helping my up.

"Thanks, Hagrid." I said, dusting myself off.

"What did yeh do ter yer ankle?" He asked, looking at me limp.

"Oh, I sprained it." I said, trying to keep my balance.

"Here, Hermione." George said, helping me up on one side as Fred helped me on the other,

"See you later, Hagrid." I yelled as Fred and George moved me onto the horseless carriages.

"Madame Pomfrey should be able to help when you get up to the castle." Fred said as I nodded, nursing my ankle.

"Think you should be a little more careful with your steps, Grangey." George laughed.

I gave him a deathly glare.  
"How'd you sprain your ankle?" Seamus asked on the other side of the carriage.

"Remember when the... Death Eaters came through the campsite at the Quidditch World Cup?" I said.

"Oh, right. That whole match was messed up."

"It was..." Fred said looking at George and started whispering something about Ludo Bagman.

"Anyway..." Seamus said quickly,  
"Wonder how our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher will be."

"Oh, yeah! Mad-Eye Moody, y'know he's an Auror?" Fred said precisely.

"I bet he's awesome." Dean said, leaning back.

"He's alright." Fred said.

"You've met him?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, loads of times," George said,  
"he can see through the back of his head with his magical eye, y'know."

"Really?"

"Yep." Fred said proudly.

"Showing off?" I said.

Everyone looked at me like they had heard something insane.

"What!"

"Nothing." They all said in unison.  
I knew exactly what they were saying.

"Just because I always know the answers in my classes because I actually do my homework doesn't mean I'm showing off!"

They all looked at each other nervously not knowing what to say.

"Ugh, boys!" I muttered, crossing my arms...

... To be continued...


	9. Detention in Honeyduke's

"Welcome, welcome!" Came Professor Dumbledore's voice as we walked into the Great Hall,

"I have some very exciting news to tell all of you, but before I do, let's sort the first years into their houses." Dumbledore said softly.

The first years came in with eager and nervous facing marveling at the Great Hall.

One of the first years was very wet, soaked, and when he came closer, I noticed he looked somewhat like Colin Creevey, a third year who was a big fan of Harry's.

I heard him muttering to Colin that he had fallen into the lake outside. This was strange because the boy seemed very enthusiastic and excited about this.

He gave Colin, who apparently was his older brother, thumbs up before walking with his fellow first years up to the front to get sorted.

The sorting went on for a while, the small Creevey boy got sorted into Geyffindor and sat down beside his brother and a few other new Gryffindors.

I could feel the anxiety of everyone to wonder what the big surprise was.

I could hear muttering from one end of the Hall to the other, but it suddenly stopped as Dumbledore began to speak.

"As you all may, or may not, know. We will not be having the Quidditch Cup this year."

I could hear angry voices all around mostly saying that that was ludicrous and insane. They stopped once Dumbledore once again began to speak,

"Because this year, we will be having something that has been a tradition for many years. The Triwizard Tournament."

A few people knew what that was, but many did not, so Dumbledore began to explain,

"This Halloween, we will have students from Beauxbatons Academy and Durmstrang Institute joining us. There are to be three champions chosen from each of this schools. If you would like to be one of these champions to bring Hogwarts the title of the Triwizard Champion. I highly suggest entering," I could hear Fred and George whispering, probably trying to find a way to enter.

"but you must know that this is very dangerous, and that's the exact reason why they had it discontinued many years ago.

Since it is so dangerous, you will not be allowed to enter if you're under the age of seventeen."

Fred and George scoffed,

"Another thing is, fourth years and above will be to attend the Yule Ball this winter, so I do encourage you to look for a date. That is all, thank you." Dumbledore said, sitting down.

Everyone began talking, about the tournament, about the ball, about everything yet to come.

I looked on my plate and thought,

A date? Would anyone ask me as their date?

I quickly shrugged, realising that there are more important things than looking for a date. And I began to eat.

George's POV:

"Okay, Georgie, we've got to find a way to get our names into the goblet of fire." My twin said as we walked back to the common room,

"You know you can't do that." Came the familiar bushy-haired girl,

"Oh yeah, and what's gonna stop us?" I said, smiling.

"Dumbledore's put an age restriction, and there's a line that he put a spell on so if any underage wizard tries to enter will be rejected."

I scoffed,

"That's not going to stop us, Hermie." Fred said,

"Fred Weasley. I said do not call me that again!" She said pointing at him,

"Okay, Grangey." I said as she turned around, gave me a backward glance and she walked off.

"We are entering the Triwizard Tournament." I said,

"Yes we are." Fred said as we high fived, watching that beautiful bushy hair bouncing as it went down the corridor.

"What are you doing?" Iasked, looking over Hermione's shoulder,

"Homework, oh, sorry, you don't understand what that is." She said jokingly.

"I do know what that is! I just don't do my homework before I actually have any." I said, taking a chair beside Hermione.

"You don't have any?"She asked earnestly.

"Nope! We've only been in class for a week. And neither do you." I said proudly,

"Okay, fine. I'm just preparing."

"Preparing for what?" I asked, confused,

"My O.W.L.S." She said quietly,

"Your O.W.L.S.? You don't have to take that until next year!"

"It's good to prepare. Maybe if you prepared you would have actually done well at your exams." She said now looking at me.

"Okay, that's just not fair." I muttered.

She slammed her book shut and looked at me expressionless,

"Okay, what do you want with me, Weasley?" She asked, annoyed.

"Want to have some fun?" I asked, as she gave me an untrusting look,

"Your idea of fun and my idea of fun are both very different."

"Since when do you have fun?"

She did not like that comment very much,

"I can be fun!" She yelled,

"Sure you can." I said with a sarcastic tone in my voice,

"I can!" She said crossing her arms,

"You see that? That is a sign of no fun." I said pointing at her crossed arms, which she quickly untangled,

"Fine! What did you have in mind?" She asked, finally softening up,

"Go to Hogsmeade for a couple Butterbeers."

"Hogsmeade?! That's against the-"

I put my finger over her mouth,

"Shhh, Hermione, lighten up."

"Get your filthy finger off my mouth." She said sternly,

"Okay, are you up for it?" I asked taking my finger away from her lips.

"Are you mental? We could get caught!" She screamed, throwing her arms in the air.

"Fred and I have done it loads of times, never been caught."

"Where is Fred?"

"Why?"

"I was just asking."

"Sure you were."

"I was!"

"Okay..."

"Just go on!"

"Okay, I know the passage to HoneyDukes."

"Don't we need the Marauder's Map?"

"Nah, I've used it enough, I know it by heart. I just need to keep an eye out."

"Okay, but if we get caught-"

"Shhh." I found my finger on her lips again,

"Remove the finger before I remove it for you." She said as I quickly pulled my finger away,

"You up for it?" I asked.

She hesitated, biting her lip and leaning back and forward before agreeing,

"Okay, but I don't want to get caught. I can't have detention with you!"

"Why not?" I asked with a fake, hurt face,

"Because all you will do is pull a prank while we're there; and I'll have to spend another detention with you. It will never end."

I wish that would happen, but she obviously was not too keen with that idea.

"Aww, but you love being with me." I said putting my arm around her and gave her a quick squeeze.

"Ha! You wish!" She said, moving my arm off her shoulder.

I sat there for a moment before she spoke again.

"So, when are we gonna go?" She asked.

I've been waiting for her to say that.

Excited, I took her hand and ran her out of the common room, through the corridor and to the One-Eyed Witch statue.

Before a brief examination of the halls, the statue opened into a long, dark slide sort of thing,

"Ladies first." I said motioning her into the hole,

"It looks dark in there." She said nervously,

"It's fine."

"George, I don't want to-" before she knew it, I had pushed her down the hole.

"She is going to kill me." I said, laughing as I closed the door and slid down the slide.

"Hello, 'mione." I said once I reached the bottom of the slide,

"I am going to kill you!"

Knew it

"Why did you push me?" She screamed.

"You wouldn't go otherwise."

"You didn't have to push me!"

"Sorry."

"Oh... Now we're in a dark cave."

"It's not a cave."

"What was that?"

"That was a waterdrop."

"I'm going to get killed in here, and it will be all your-" she pointed her finger at me that I grabbed and slowly moved into my hand.

"What are you doing?" She asked calmly.

I did not respond, I just grabbed my wand and said Lumos! And a small beam of light came out of the end of my wand.

I led her through the long, dark passageway, still clenching my hand, I'm guessing because she was afraid, but I didn't mind. I actually enjoyed it, much as I had the first time I held her hand. Didn't want it to end.

"Not so brave now, are you?" I asked, smiling at the girl who was grabbing my arm,

"Don't." She said sternly.

We walked for a while before I finally felt the familiar rattle of HoneyDukes sweetshop,

"Now we've got to be quiet."

I said as she nodded.

I slowly opened the door to see if anyone was around, and to my luck, no one was,

"Come on." I whispered, grabbing Hermione's arm and quietly walking out of the trapdoor.

As we made it to the top, we went up the stairs and into the shop, to see the sensation of all the walls covered with candy of all kind,

"See anything you like? I know I do." I said with a wink, but she gave me a disgusted look and scoffed,

"Hey, you can't say anything, you haven't let go of my hand yet." She flushed with pink and quickly let go of my hand.

"Let's go." I said as I lead her into the Three Broomsticks.

"Two Butterbeers, please." I asked Madame Rosmerta,

"Coming up." She said as she walked back behind the counter.

Hermione just looked around awkwardly, apparently trying to avoid eye contact.

"So..." I said awkwardly, trying to make conversation.

"Are you excited for the Yule Ball?"

She shrugged,

"Not really."

"Why not?"

"Because they're just pressuring us to chose a date and wear formal attire and all that. It's just rubbish. I don't wear dresses and I don't think I'm pretty enough for such a formal occasion." She had turned to me, and I just looked at her in her beautiful brown eyes and thought How could she think that she wasn't pretty? She's beautiful.

Iapparently didn't notice that I had been smiling,

"Why are you smiling at me?" She asked going slightly pink, and flashing a small smile,

"Because you're beautiful." I said quickly, and absentmindedly Did I just say that out loud?

She was really pink now,

"I-I'm what?"

But she was suddenly interrupted,

"Weasley! Granger! What are you doing outside of Hogwarts?" Came Professor McGonagall, walking over quickly.

"You are supposed to be up at the castle! Detention next Sunday, both of you, Professor Moody's office."

I banged my head against the table and Hermione's voice kept coming into my mind

We're going to get caught! Don't let us get detention!

Ihad surely lost her trust, what was she going to do now? This is her worst fear getting in trouble.

... To be continued...


	10. Fued With A Weasley

"Hermione, please talk to me." I asked trying to get her attention as we ran down the hall to the common room,

"Come on, I'm sorry." I said.

She turned around quickly, obviously quite angry with me,

"You got me detention! I trusted you that I wasn't going to get into trouble. I knew I should have never listened to someone like you." She said angrily,

"What do you mean someone like me?" I asked, confused,

"You and your brother. You may seem charming and nice on the outside, but on the inside you have no regard for the rules. No respect. Always getting into trouble." She shouted, while it echoed through the empty corridor.

"Oh, so you think we're charming?" I asked.

I am obviously not good with these kind of things, for she raised her voice to its full extent and said,

"STAY AWAY FROM ME, WEASLEY!" And stormed off down the hall.

I was hurt, honestly, but I still couldn't keep my mouth shut,

"I can't, we have detention!" I said yelling down the corridor to have her hear me.

She scowled at me and slammed the door behind her to where it echoed so loudly that a few of the portraits on the wall started worrying.

I ran my fingers through my hair, thinking,

I am an idiot

"I agree." Came Fred's voice behind me.

I hadn't realized that I was speaking out loud,

"Don't agree with me." I said, beginning to walk down the corridor.

"I won't if you promise to tell me the next time you sneak out."

"Oh, right. Sorry." I said looking down awkwardly.

"What's with Granger?" He asked.

"She just needs some time alone." I said, regretting making her go and sneak out of the castle, and pushing her to do it, when she didn't want to.

It was now the day before the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students arrived.

Hermione hadn't spoken to me since that night, and at detention I kept on trying to get her attention, making jokes, talking to her, but she acted like I was invisible.

When she did look at me, it was with anger.

One of the peculiar things that happened right as we were about to left detention, I saw a black trunk in Moody's office jumping and making noises, screaming noises.

I just sat there, looking at it until Professor Moody came and shut the door on me, it apparently wasn't my business.

I just thought it was something like a boggart and decided to ignore it. But one thing I didn't understand was why a boggart would be making screaming noises...

Hermione's POV:

It was now Halloween, and the Durmstang and Beauxbatons students would be to arrive this evening, but I had more important things on my mind- homework.

I sat in the arm chair in the common room by the fire finishing up a charms essay from Professor Flitwick.

"Done." I said as I closed my book and rolled up my parchment.

"Done with what?" I turned around and saw a familiar red haired boy.

It was Fred.

I quickly turned around and stared at the fire, trying to ignore Fred, I knew he would want to talk to me about George and how sorry he was about getting me into trouble.

But quite frankly, I did not want to hear it.

He suddenly stood in front of the fire, trying to get my attention.

I took my book and my parchment and got up, but he just got closer.

"You're not going that easily." He said as I tried to move.

I was Maneuvering around, trying to get out of his way, when I kept changing directions and finally got past him.

He quickly ran to me and leaned down to my height, which was low, because he basically towered over me.

"Granger."

There a was a long pause.

"What do you want with me?" I finally said,

"She talks!" He said throwing his hands into the air excitedly.

"What do you want?" I asked again.

"George really is sorry."

"I don't want to hear it."

"I know you don't. But I thought you'd want to know is that he's crazy about you. It really bothers him that you're not talking to him."

"He's just going to have to live with that." I said matter-of-factly.

"Please, Granger." He said, looking at me with a desperate look in his eyes.

I kept looking at him, his eyes like George's but slightly darker.

"Fine!" I said, knowing that Fred would have kept me there for ages if he could.

"Great, thanks, Grangey!" He said, smiling.

"See you in the Great Hall."

I put my books in my dormitory and ran off to find Harry and Ron.

Thatnight I was walking through the corridor with Harry and Ron, talking about the student that would be chosen as a Tri-Wizard Champion from Hogwarts when we heard yelling from the bridge,

"Look!"

Harry, Ron and I looked down, but didn't notice anything.

"Unicorns!" Cried a first year pointing up in the sky.

There came numerous carriages from, what I noticed as it they came closer, Beauxbatons Academy.

Everyone was marveling at the Unicorns pulling the flying carriages, but then someone else yelled and pointed in the other direction at the Black Lake.

The ship from Durmstrang arrived. This told us that we needed to make our way to the Great Hall.

I sat anxiously, eyeing the door.

This was before George sat down right beside me, when I quickly turned my head in the other direction.

"Come on, 'mione. Are you still mad at me?" He asked.

I ignored him, trying to make it cross his mind that I was in fact still upset with him, even though I said I'd forgive him, I didn't feel like telling him this, he had to redeem himself.

Not long after, I heard the creaking of the door, and quickly turned my head to see the students in blue outfits walking in through the door,

"Beauxbatons." I heard Seamus whisper to Dean.

They were marvelous, flipping, doing somersaults and cartwheels, but so elegantly.

The boys seemed very impressed, for I caught a glimpse of Ron, who was drooling, looking at a blonde girl, who looked somewhat like a Veela.

"Ron, you're drooling." I said, handing him a napkin.

He sat there for a moment, staring at the blonde girl before he noticed what I had said.

"What? Oh." He said, quickly grabbing the napkin and wiping his mouth.

Next came the Durmstrang students with red fur coats and tall complexions. It was intriguing.

But one particular person I saw, I noticed immediately, from the Quidditch World Cup,

"Krum!" Ron yelled.

"It's Viktor Krum, Harry!"

Ron yelled excitedly looking as though he was about to squeal like a girl.

The students sat down not long after and Dumbledore welcomed our guests, explaining the Tri-Wizard Tournament. And not long after our food approached,

"Hey, Hermione, you know who makes our food?" Fred asked.

It had never crossed my mind about who made our food for us, but by the hand gesturing from George, I realized that they didn't want to tell me.

"House elves." Fred said as George put his hand on his head.

"They enslave house-elves here?" I said astounded.

"Yeah, they like it. They like to work, Hermione. It makes them happy, so don't try to change it." Fred said and I scoffed.

I pushed my plate away, not letting myself eat something made by slaves.

The feast finally finished about an hour and a half later, and the students went to the carriages, if they were from Beauxbatons, and the ship if they were from Durmstrang.

I was walking down the corridor when my stomach made a big growl,

"You should've eaten, Hermione." Harry said.

"Not when it is because house elves are being forced!" I screamed, but I was really hungry,

"Oh, rubbish. They like to be told what to do!" Yelled Ron.

"I don't care, I'm not eating from the Great Hall until they don't use the elves as slaves, unpaid." I yelled.

"You're just going to starve." Ron said reassuringly.

"I will then!"

I made it seem like I was fine with going without food, but I wasn't, I was starving. But I didn't want anyone to see me have weakness, so I went to bed with an empty stomach, but that was a bad idea.

GROWL!

Iwoke up to my stomach growling like a lion. I checked the windows, it was still dark outside, but there was no way I was going to get back to sleep with my stomach so empty.

Since I wasn't going to sleep any time soon, I decided that I would at least go into the common room.

I stepped down the stairs, rubbing the sleep off my eyes, and I noticed, over the brim of the couch, a glance of red hair.

I walked over to see who what it was.

"George!" I screamed, waking him up, for he had fallen asleep while doing homework.

"What are you doing?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"May I ask you the same thing?" He said, yawning.

"I.. Uh." Don't let anyone know you starved yourself, I told myself, "I asked you first!"

I didn't know why I was so hungry, it hasn't been long, and a lot of people go longer than ten hours without eating. I don't know, but what I do know is that it was unpleasant.

"Okay, I'm having trouble with my homework." He admitted.

I sat down beside him,

"Really! Would've never guess George Weasley would have problems with homework." I said.

"Not funny." He said, but he suddenly lit up, with an idea.

"Can you help me with my homework?" I was, but I had forgotten that I hadn't forgiven him yet,

"No. I'm still mad at you." I said, turning away.

"I know, I can't blame you, but you've had detention before, it's not like you've never-"

"A simple sorry would suffice." I said, cutting him off.

He sighed,

"I'm sorry, I really am, Hermione. And it's driven me crazy. Please forgive me." He said as I turned around.

He had his hands clasped and a fake pouty face on, and I was trying to hide my smile, but I was failing,

"Fine!" I screamed.

George grabbed me suddenly.

"Let go of me." I said sitting stiffly,

"Aw, come on, Grangey, you used to like that." He said,

"George. If you want help on your homework, I suggest you let go of me." He quickly let his grip go and said,

"Thank you, Hermione!"

"But only if you get me food. I don't care how or where, just get it, I'm going to starve myself."

"You don't care if I steal it from the kitchen?"

"No, just, ah... Just get me some food!" I found myself grabbing his collar, him looking scared,

"Ten hours without food and you've become a ravenous beast." He said, laughing.

I started laughing, and let go of my grip.

"Sorry." I said awkwardly.

"It's fine, Grangey." He said with a wink, and off he went.

It had been about twenty minutes, and I had been staring into the fire, my eyes getting heavy and slowly falling, and I did my best to keep them open, when I heard the door open quietly.

"Here you go, 'mione." He whispered as he set a plate of toast, Brussel sprouts and a piece of chicken on the table. Along with Pumpkin juice.

He sat down beside me, and I quickly ate,

"Gonna stop to breathe?" He asked, laughing.

"Sorry." I said as I burped.

I covered my mouth with my eyes wide,

"Nice one, Granger!" He said.

I started to laugh, but it quickly turned into a yawn.

I finally found myself very tired, and I slowly rested my head on George's shoulder.

He smiled softly and moved me to the couch and gave me a blanket, which he put on top of me.

He kissed me on the forehead and said,

"Good night, Grangey."

... To be continued...


	11. Triwizard Task

Tomorrow was the day, the day the Triwizard champions were chosen.  
So, this was the last day to enter.

"Come on, Freddie!" Yelled George, turning to his twin, who was running down the corridor holding a small bottle in his hands.

"What are you two up to?" I asked, suspicion inside of me. They apparently didn't see me, for they flinched at the sound of my voice.

"Uh, nothing to worry about, Granger." Fred said, hiding the bottle behind his back.

"What is that?" I asked, peering behind his back.

"Don't you worry, my dear, it's nothing." George said, smirking,  
"shall we, Freddie?" George asked as they linked arms and skipped off down the corridor.

"I will never understand those twins." I said, shaking my head.  
I shrugged and walked down the corridor in the same direction.

I heard clapping as I walked into the Great Hall, many wizards were encircled around the Goblet, cheering.  
I stepped forward to see what the fuss about, only to see two bearded twins attempting to put their name in the Goblet.  
_CRASH_!  
They flew into the air and on the floorboard right in front of my feet.

"Idiots." I said, glaring at the bearded twins.  
I shook my head again and walked out, laughing at the sight of the twins with beards as long as Dumbledore's.

**The** **Next** **Day:**

**"**And the champion from Durmstang is..." Said Dumbledore as he took a small piece of parchment out of the goblet and exclaimed,  
"Viktor Krum!"

The roomed roared with cheers and clapping. He stood up and walked to a series of stairs leading to a room.

"Next, the champion from Beauxbatons..." Dumbledore said excitedly,  
"Fleur Delacour!"  
The blonde headed girl that the boys gushed over stood up and walked toward the same room as Viktor.

"And lastly, the Hogwarts Champion..." Dumbledore said fervently, holding up a small piece of parchment.  
"Cedric Diggory!"  
Everyone began cheering and clapping, well almost everyone.

"That should have been us, Freddie." George said, looking at his twin, who nodded.

I just shook my head, and listened on.

"Well, we have our three Triwizard champions! I do hope you-"  
He was interrupted by the goblet firing up again, and spitting out _another_ piece of parchment.

Dumbledore gulped nervously and opened the piece and read it aloud.  
"Harry Potter." He muttered quietly, to where almost no one could hear him,  
"Harry Potter." He said louder.

I could feel a pit form inside my stomach, my best friend was the first ever fourth champion in the Triwizard Tournament, where people have been seriously injured or even killed.  
Harry had a look of fear on his face, but I knew he had to go up there, so I made him go on.  
He gulped and moved leisurely to Dumbledore, who also had a look of fear on his face, which I had never seen before.

"Thank you for participating in the choosing of the Triwizard Champions. Please make your way out of the Great Hall. That is all, thank you." Professor McGonagall said, looking shocked, as Dumbledore and Harry dispersed.

"Blimey. Potter managed to get his name into the goblet, and he didn't tell us how!" George said.

"Obviously he didn't put his name into the goblet, you idiot!" I screamed.

George looking hurt.

"He was afraid, he could barely stand up because he was shaking from fear! Something's obviously wrong. Don't be stupid!"

"Seems like he meant to." Ron muttered quietly behind gritted teeth.

"_What?_" I said angrily.

"Obviously he enjoys the attention." Ron said, enraged.

"Are you bloody mental!? He was frightened, did you see the look on his face? He's just been chosen to attempt to finish three deadly tasks, Ronald! Your best friend could die! What is wrong with you!" I screamed, infuriated.

"Apparently a lot of things." Ron said as he rushed out of my way and slammed the door to the common room.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked generally.

"Who knows. Our brother's an idiot." Fred said.

I gave them both a deathly glare, and stormed off into my dormitory and plopped on my bed.

**One** **week** **before** **the** **first** **task**:

"How are you, Harry?" I asked, my arm on his shoulder,  
"I'm just... I'm fine." He said, focusing on his plate of eggs.

"Come on, Harry. We both know you're not." I said, not believing his story.  
"Did you figure out how to get the dragon's egg?" I asked, taking a bite of toast, now that I knew how it was not to eat.

"Yeah, Moody helped me figure out what to do." He said, and my spirits were lifted.

"Oh? Well, what are you going to do?" I asked.

"Hey, Granger." George said, sitting across from me.

"Not now, George." I said, glaring at him.

"No, it's fine. I have homework I have to finish anyway. Bye Hermione." Harry said, picking up his books and walking out.

"What was that for?" I asked, annoyed.

"I need to show you something." He said, smiling widely.

"Absolutely not. Remember what happened last time? I swear this time I _will_ hex you." I said sternly.

"Watch it, Granger. It's for Harry, in his second task." George said, getting quieter with each word.

"You know what the second task is?"

"Shh!" He said, looking around to make sure no one was watching, "yes, but you must not tell anyone."

I looked at him suspiciously.  
"Why should I trust you again?" I asked, leaning in to listen.

"Fred is the one who found out. He's there now, come on." He said, standing up, but I seized his wrist.

"Why should I trust you, especially when it's with you and Fred?" I asked.

"Because if you do..." He thought for a moment, "I'll sign a petition for your spew thing or whatever."

"Okay, but first off, it's not _spew_, it's S.P.E.W." I corrected, standing up.

"Whatever. Come on." He said as he and I set off.

"Hello, Hermie." Fred said, standing at the edge of the Black Lake, as George and I approached him.

"Do not call me Hermie." I said firmly, "What's the second task?"

"This." George said showing his hand out to the lake.

"The Black Lake? What do they have to do?" I asked, sitting down on a log.

"Not quite sure. But I heard Ludo Bagman saying something about tying hostages or people, something like that." Fred said matter-of-factly.

"So they have to swim to retrieve the hostages?" I asked.

"I suppose. It'll be hard to breathe if it's underwater though. That's what I think the biggest challenge is." George said as he sat down beside me.

"Do you know who or what the hostages are?" I asked, moving away slightly.

"Not sure, guess we'll find out." He said, smiling.

All of the sudden, I heard rustles in the bushes, turned around and saw the familiar bat-like ears and bulging eyes,  
"Dobby?" I said, trying to picture him through the leaves.

"Dobby didn't- Dobby wasn't listening." Dobby said, trying to hide.

"I'll get him." Said Fred as he ran after the elf.

**George's** **POV:**

"So." I said awkwardly.  
I just saw her sitting there in silence staring into the lake.  
She didn't say anything.  
She was thinking, about something.

"I don't know how he can get past the second task! I should go ahead and tell him-" She said quickly, throwing her hands in the air.

"No, no, no, you can not tell _anyone _about the second task, no one can know. They are supposed to figure it out themselves." I said.

"Then why did you bring me here?" She asked.

I blushed a little, I really didn't know why I had told her. She was sure to tell Harry about the second task! He _was_ her best friend.

"I just felt like you would want to know." I said confidently, "Promise you won't tell anyone?"

"Not even Harry?" She asked.

"Especially Harry." I said.

"Fine. He needs to get past his first task first. And you're right, he needs to find out on his own."

I liked hearing this, she had never told me that I was _right, _she usually told me that I was stupid.  
It was a nice change.

"What now?" She asked, after a short silence.

"I need help with studying?" I said questionably.

"Fine. But you have to sign the petition for S.P.E.W." She said as she stood up.

"Spew?" I asked smiling, standing up as well.

"No." She said as she began to walk.

"Hermie loves her spew" I said jokingly.

"George stop."

"Everyone sign up for spew!"

"I swear."

"Hermie would love it."

"George, I will hex you."

"Spew anyone?"

"George, stop it _now."_

"If I stop, can I kiss you?" I asked, as she stopped walking.

"What?" She said with a confused look on her face.

I just stood there smiling.

"Just answer." I said.

"Are you serious!?" She asked, yelling.

"Yep." I said, waiting for an answer.  
_What_ _are_ _you_ _doing_, _you_ _idiot? _Ithought to myself.

I had said something stupid that I didn't realise that I had said. But when I did, my cheeks flushed a deep red.

She just stood there, looking at me with disbelief, trying to comprehend what to say until she said something.

"Just... Just come on." She said obviously shocked about what she just both just started to walk again, in utter silence.  
I just wondered what was going through her head.

_One_ _day._  
Itold myself, which made me smile a little...

... To be continued...


	12. Butterbeer Breakdown

We walked back into the common room, Hermione still stricken by what I had said.

She coughed awkwardly and said with a high voice.

"Okay, what are you needing help with?I need to help Harry with his first task soon, so we'd better hurry up."

She tried to avoid eye contact obviously.

"Uh, okay," I said sitting down.  
I opened my Potions essay that I had finished not long before.

"D'ya mind and check this?" I asked,  
"I don't think all the facts are correct."

She picked up my parchment and squinted as she read the essay thoroughly, marking out words and rewriting something back.

"I can assure you Basilisk fangs are not an ingredient in a forgetfulness potion." She said laughing softly.

"But it was funny though, right?" I said, trying to make her laugh.

She just glared at me, and I looked at her waiting for an answer, and she eventually cracked a smile.

"It's wrong."

"I know."

"The three ingredients are-"

"Lethe River Water, mistletoe berries, and Valerian sprigs." I said quickly.

She sat there staring at me, mouth opened.  
"I-I don't understand. If you knew the ingredients, then why did you put the incorrect ingredients on your essay?" She asked, both shocked and confused.

"I-uh, I don't know. I mean this is first year potions. I don't see why I would have to put this in a sixth year essay." I said, stuttering.

"Because it's a summary, testing what you remember," she said, "You know George, life isn't just about being funny or drawing attention to yourself. There are more important things than pranks or jokes. You are very intelligent, you just need to use your cleverness for good use, not jokes."

I smiled a little.  
I had never been thought of as intelligent, and it made me so happy to hear it from her,.

"Thanks, Hermione." I said, going pink slightly.

"So was there anything else wrong with the essay?" I asked.

"Uh, yes, I do believe your name's not George Wesley," She said, laughing, "besides a few other misprints, it was actually very good. I'm impressed, Weasley."

"Now you sound like a professor." I said smiling.

"Well, is that all?" She asked.

"Yeah, I need to practise a conjuring spell," I said, "I can manage it by myself."

"Are you sure? I don't know if I can trust you." Hermione said doubtingly.

"Don't worry, Grangey, when have _I_ been into trouble?" I asked jokingly.

She looked at me with a have-you-met-you face.

"Fine, but I better not come back and find first years with blue hair." She said as she gathered her books and stood up.

"Nah, don't worry. Just second years..." She gave me a stern look.

"Don't worry, Miss Granger." I said with a wink.

She nodded and went off, her bushy hair bouncing on the back of her head brisk-fully.

**Hermione's** **POV:**

"What is going on?" I said, walking over to Harry, who was laughing so hard that he clutched his stomach and fell on his knees.

I noticed Professor Moody moving something furry with his wand, and as I came closer I noticed that it was a-  
"Weasel!" Yelled Pansy Parkinson, "You turned Draco into a bloody weasel!"

"That's Draco?" I asked, looking at the bouncing ferret.

"Yes, Miss Granger." Said Professor Moody as he continued bouncing Draco,

"You can't do that to a student!" I yelled.

"This ferret needs to learn a lesson-"

"She's right. Alastor! Turn Mr Malfoy back!" Said Professor McGonagall as she approached.

"Oh, alright." He said in his usual scratchy voice.

In an instant the weasel turned back to the blonde haired, thin faced Draco.  
I just laughed at seeing Draco bouncing around, even though it was wrong, it was funny.

This must be how it is for George and Fred. It wasn't a bad thing to think something was funny.  
It was wrong, and I hate to admit it, but it was funny.

"My father will hear about this!" Draco said as he walked toward Harry and me.

"Hear what? That his son is nothing but a bouncing ferret." Harry said.

I laughed quickly.

"Why are I _you_ laughing Mudblood? At least my family doesn't consist of filthy Muggles."

I suddenly stopped laughing and was instantaneously hurt.  
I didn't know what to say, but luckily I found help.

"Hey, ferret!"

I turned around and saw George, who was with Fred and Lee.

"How about you leave her alone?"

"And why would I take instructions from a blood traitor?" He asked, smirking.

"Want to be a ferret again? It is quite an improvement, I might add. Isn't it Fred?" George asked, pulling out his wand.

"Oh, yes, a big improvement." Fred said as he nodded.

"You'll be given detention!"

"Since when have I cared."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Weasley?"

"Why not?"

"B-because I'll tell my father on you!"

"You go do that. Go run to your daddy."  
George said, raising his wand.

"You'll be expelled." He said, whimpering,

"Try me. One-"

"Leave me alone!"

"Two..."

"Stop it now!"

"Three-"

"Fine! Fine! I'll stop." Malfoy said with an ugly frown.  
George put his wand back proudly.  
"Mudblood's got a blood traitor boyfriend." Malfoy remarked.

I blushed a little, but also was annoyed.

"And I see that the bouncing ferret doesn't have a girlfriend." George said, smirking.

He looked at George angrily, stuttering, finding something to say, "My father will hear about this!"

"Yeah, yeah, we know, just go on, you ferret."

Malfoy growled at George and strode off with Crabbe and Goyle.

George high-fived Fred and Lee before I walked over.

"You know you didn't have to do that. I could have punched him again." I said, chuckling.

"Nah, the weasel deserved it," He said as he waved Fred and Lee goodbye,  
"But I would like to see you punch him."

"If he calls me that again, you'll be sure to see him get slapped."  
I said as I laughed softly.

"If he calls you that again, he'll get more than slapped," George said, "if he calls my Granger that again-"

"_Your_ Granger?" I asked, confused.

"I'm just kidding."

"And why did you say I was your girlfriend?" I asked.

"What? Oh, I didn't, he said you were." He said precisely.

"But you didn't deny it." I mentioned.

"Oh, right. Well, my joke wouldn't have worked if I did then, would it?" He muttered.

"I suppose not." I said.

It was a long quiet pause for a while,  
"Well-"

"I think-"

"Uh, you go first." He said awkwardly.

"I was just going to say that I probably need to help Harry before his task tomorrow," I said promptly.

"Oh."

"What were you going to say?" I asked.

"Oh, it's nothing. Don't worry about it."

He said as he scratched his head nervously.

"Okay. Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I'm sure." He said quietly.

"Okay. Well, thanks for standing up for me." I said, pulling hair behind my ears sheepishly.

"Anytime, Miss Granger." He said looking at me with his bright green eyes.  
I just sat there, waiting for something to happen. But nothing did.

"Um, well, I'd better go. Thanks again." I said eventually, feeling awkward.  
"Right." He said as I waved.  
I walked down the corridor, just thinking.

**The** **Day** **Of** **The** **First** **Task:**

"Are you nervous, Hermione?" Neville asked as I managed to find a seat.

"Uh, yeah, but I'm sure not as much as Harry." I said, shaking a little.

I sat down and stroked my knees nervously. Breathing hard, I anxiously waited to see my best friend attempt to take an egg from a deadly dragon.  
The thought worried me.

I glanced over at Ron, who had his arms crossed, and looked as though he had sunken into his seat. He had a look of jealousy on his face. _He_ _doesn't_ _understand_ _anything_, _does_ _he? _I asked myself.  
I shrugged and looked on. 

After three eggs were captured, I could hear cheers and applause as I saw Cedric waving at the crowd, golden egg under his arm.  
Harry was next.

The cannon blared and Harry stepped out, I could see the look of fear on his face.  
I was so nervous, I grabbed George's arm, and hid my face in it.

"Scared, Grangey?" He asked.

I didn't say anything.  
I glanced at the field few times, but only saw Harry almost get burned with fire, so I just kept my head hidden, waiting for it to be over.

After a lot of screams and yelps, I finally heard cheers.

"It's over, Hermione." George said as I let go of his arm and looked up. Harry was waving just like Cedric.

He had the egg under one arm, and he was holding his broom in his other arm. I felt a feeling of relief seeing him scar-free and not in a million pieces.  
I stood up and clapped and cheered.  
One task down, two to go.

I plopped myself on the couch in the common room after my he first task.

"Why are _you_ exhausted? I was the one who had to face a dragon." I heard Harry's voice and jumped up and hugged him.

"Oh, Harry! I'm so glad you're alive!" I squealed.

"I am too." He said, hugging me back.  
I let go of him, but kept my arms on his shoulders.

"You have a cut." I said, examining the cut on his cheek.

"Yeah, it's just a small cut. It'll be fine."  
I smiled and let go of him.

"Hope so."

"Butterbeers all around!" Yelled Fred and George, who were holding goblets of Butterbeer in their hands.

"Butterbeer, Granger?" George asked, holding the goblet in front of me.

"I would love one." I said as I took the goblet from his hand.

I sat down on the couch and took a sip.  
"Granger's grown herself a mustache." George said, sitting down.

He took his thumb and wiped the foam from my lip.  
He then took a sip from his goblet and some of the foam made his lip as well as his chin.  
I spit out a little of Butterbeer from laughing.

"You've got a beard!" I laughed.

"On a scale from Karkaroff to Dumbledore..."

I laughed hard, and wiped his beard and mustache off.  
We both smiled.

"Butterbeer beard. Looks good on you." I said.

"You like it?" He asked.

He took another sip, getting more foam on his chin to where it began to drip.  
I started laughing so hard that I fell off the couch.  
He wiped his beard off and took my hand and helped me up.  
I stood up, still laughing, and leaned on him.  
I stopped once I noticed that he wasn't laughing, but looking at me.

"What?" I asked, "do I have a mustache still?"  
I wiped my lip, but nothing was on it.

"George, what is it?" I said, still looking at him.  
He seemed stiff.

"George?"  
Suddenly George fell on his back as though he had fainted or had been petrified.

"Oh my gosh!" I screamed as I leaned over George, "what happened?"

I became nervous once again, looking at his eyes, that now looked lifeless.  
People came over me, muttering.

"Someone! Get help!" I said as I began to tear up, "dear God, George, don't be dead." I said as I put my arms around his cold neck, crying.

"Please don't be dead... I need you."

... To be continued...


	13. Wake Up Call

I continued to visit George the next few weeks, checking up on him every evening before curfew, but he was still in a deep sleep. It waited and waited to see his face light up again, and to see his smile, but it didn't come.

It was now three days until the Yule Ball, and Madame Pomfrey still has not found a cure for George, or a diagnosis for what had happened, and I quickly began to worry.

No one knows why he passed out or how he did, and no one really knew what was wrong with him.

For the last few months, I had been searching in the library for a diagnosis. Many options had come close to the diagnosis, but none of the symptoms matched, which led to me having a long and hopeless search only to find nothing.

Almost everyone was preparing for the Yule Ball, girls discussing how to do their hair and what to wear, and boys attempting to learn how to dance, some did well, but some were not as successful.

Since it was so close to the Ball, and I was yet to find a date, and I knew that George was not waking up anytime soon, I decided I'd skip the Ball and continue to look for a diagnosis. What else to do when your friends are out but read?

This evening I went back to the library to finish up some Herbology homework, and, if I had time, research cures and diagnosis, even though I've nearly gone through every book to find one.

I walked out of the common room and walked through the long and chatter-filled corridors through a long passageway until I made it to the library.

I walked through the door and noticed at least twenty girls crowded around Viktor Krum, the Bulgarian seeker.

They were obviously attracted to him, but I, for one, do not base a man off of his looks, but by his knowledge, humility, kindness, and most of all, personality.

This was not an unusual sight, for almost every time I came in the library he was surrounded by many awe-stricken girls.

Ignoring the girls, I sat at a table on the other side of the library and began to read Magical Water Plants of the Mediterranean. I was hoping to find something for Harry to use for the second task as well as doing my homework. Of course he'll have to find out the task himself first, but since I already know it, it should give me more time to research a method for Harry to use to breathe underwater.

I had only read one paragraph when I was abruptly interrupted,

"H-hello."

Viktor had somehow dispersed out of the giggling band of girls,

"Hi." I said awkwardly as I looked up at him.

No one had said anything for a solid two minutes. I didn't know if this was because he didn't speak enough English or he couldn't make out what he wanted to say.

I had almost finished three paragraphs when he interrupted me once again,

"So..." He began.

I grunted from being distracted,

"Yes?" I asked annoyedly.

"Have you gotten a date to the Ball yet?" He asked as I looked up at him.

"You don't have a date yet? With all those girls practically dying to go with you?" I asked.

"Vell, no. I've been asked many time, but there's only one girl I've vonted to go with." He said softly.

"Oh?" I said looking back and forth from my book onto him,

"You." He said quickly.

I looked at him and smiled,

"M-me?" I asked, unexpectedly.

"Yes. I've seen you around the library, studying, but I've never gotten the guts to ask you."

I found myself blushing slightly. I didn't know why he would chose me out of any of the other girls. Most didn't find me necessarily attractive or exactly pleasing to the eye. Most people made fun of my bucked teeth, briar intelligence and my bushy hair.

I guess I wasn't expecting a world renown Bulgarian Quidditch player to be nervous to talk to me, especially since he was used to having attention.

"About the ball. I vos vondering," He began in his deep Bulgarian accent, "if you would like to go to the Ball... With me?"

I smiled widely at his words, and this was surprising to me.

At first I didn't know what to say. My first instinct was to say no,because I wasn't planning to go at all.

But then I looked up at Viktor, who was looking with desperate eyes.

The world famous Bulgarian seeker was too nervous and afraid to talk to someone like me. Just thinking about how sweet that was and how he turned down tons and tons of offers just because he wanted to go with me. I couldn't say no.

In fact, this made me want to go even more. This bulky guy who I never put much thought to suddenly seemed more meaningful and intriguing to me.

I had to end up answering, for I realised that I had been looking at him sitting in awkward silence.

"Uh..." I began, "Uh, yes! I would love to."

I saw his face light up suddenly,

"Wonderful," He said with a smile, "would you like to practice dancing? The champions have to dance first, so we must be prepared."

"Um, alright." I said as I slowly began to stand up

"Vell, let's go." He said as he outstretched his hand.

I took his hand and we began walking.

Little did I know that I had left my book on the table, open. And little did I know that a bat eared big eyed Dobby was lingering closely.

He slowly moved over to the table with my book on it. He looked at the book, then at me walking out the door and decided that he would take the book.

George's POV:

Islowlyopenedmyeyes, one at a time, and the vision of the hospital wing slowly came into view.

I began to yawn, and as I did I heard glass shatter. I slowly turned my head to where I saw Madame Pomfrey staring blankly at me as though she'd been shocked and close to her feet was a pile of broken glass.

"M-mr Weasley?" She asked, shaking mildly.

"Um," I examined myself, "yeah."

"How'd you- how? Haven't... Figured... Cure... Diagnosis?" She stuttered, obviously lost for words.

"What're you talking about?" I asked, confused.

"Uh... Well, it's just that you've been in a... A coma thing-"

"Wait, a coma?" I asked as she started to clean up the glass.

"Yes, well, a couple of months ago, after the first task, you... Well, you passed out." She said slowly.

I sat back, trying to understand what I had just heard.

"D'ya know how?" I asked.

"That's the weird thing. We've been searching for an answer to your symptoms and couldn't find anything, which is why when you woke up I freaked out. I wasn't expecting you to wake up for a long time, or at least until we found a diagnosis." She said.

I sat there for a moment, thinking.

So I passed out into a coma for a few months and they couldn't figure out why, and I suddenly woke up.

This didn't add up.

"Was there any trace of like disease or anything?" I asked promptly.

"Well it said you were perfectly healthy, but it seemed like you were in a coma. It would be quite difficult to find something if you were actually in a coma, so it was more likely that you were just in a long, deep sleep."

None of this made sense to me, and my head started to hurt when I thought about it.

"So... Can I go?" I asked.

"I need to check if you're completely healthy first." She said as she waved her wand in front of me.

"Okay, you're good to go, but be careful. You have been asleep for a couple months." I stopped in my tracks as turned around.

"Um, do you know where everyone is?" I asked.

"I'm guessing at the Ball." She said.

"Is that tonight?" I screamed.

"Yes sir."

I found myself rushing up to the common room as fast as my legs could take me.

I quickly gave the Fat Lady the password and the portrait hole swung open.

I rushed into the first through third year filled common room, getting stared at with confused eyes.

I took a quick shower and got dressed into my dress robes.

I checked out myself in the mirror,

"At least it's not Ron's dress robes."

I grabbed a coat and ran out of my dormitory, ignoring the stares, and made my way to the Great Hall.

I walked in slowly, not wanting much attention.

I noticed Fred and Lee with their dates and walked over to them.

"Isn't she beautiful?" Lee said glancing at a beautiful girl in the middle of the Hall.

"Yeah, but not as much as me." I said smiling.

Lee and Fred turned around and looked at me, shocked.

"Georgie? You're okay!" Fred said as he gave me a man hug and patted me on the back.

"How? Did they figure out what happened?" Lee asked,

"Nope, Pomfrey looked as confused as you." I said.

"How'd you get out?" Angelina asked.

"She couldn't find anything wrong with me, as though nothing had happened, like I'd just been asleep.

"There's something suspicious about this." Angelina said.

"Yeah. Well." I said, just trying to ignore it.

"Where's Hermione?" I asked.

Lee and Fred looked at each other, then at me,

"Right there, in the blue dress." Fred said as he pointed at the girl in the middle of the Hall.

"No, that can't be her, she's-"

"Beautiful?" Lee said.

"She's always been beautiful," I explained.

I looked at the girl standing by Ron and Harry, and I couldn't believe that it was her, but when she turned around I caught a glimpse of her sparkling brown eyes, and I instantly knew it was her.

I was astounded by her. Her normally bushy hair was tied tight up in her hair and her bucked teeth seemed oddly smaller. She was the most beautiful girl that I had ever seen.

I started to walk through people to make my way to her and see her.

When I got through the last person, I saw her, standing there, shining with beauty, and I was at a loss for words.

I was just about to walk toward her when a tall dark haired boy came over with drinks. I instantly knew who it was- Viktor Krum.

He kissed her hand and asked her to dance, she smiled and agreed.

I felt my stomach sink at seeing her being so taken by him.

Viktor moved her to dance and he twirled her, smile glued to her face with a look of interest in her eyes.

Her blue dress rippling in the wind as he spun her. She looked like she was enjoying herself, but the thing that bothered me was that it wasn't with me.

I felt anger inside me as they slow danced, looking into each other's eyes, much as I had done to her.

He kissed her cheek and they dispersed from the dance floor.

He left her again to get drinks.

She just sat there, smiling.

And when she lifted up her head, she had looked at me, and once I saw her, the smile was wiped off her face, and I didn't want to be there any more.

I ran out of the Hall as fast as I could, running through corridors and to the common room and into my dormitory.

I punched my wall, and as I turned my head, I noticed the scarf that she had given to me, and I took my wand.

_Incendio!_

And the scarf went in flames.

I sat down on my bed, running fingers through my hair over and over again, trying to forget the memory...

... To be continued...


	14. Christmas Letter

Hermione's POV:

I woke up early the next morning with a smile on my face- it was Christmas Day.

I rushed down the cold stone stairs excitedly and into the common room, where Harry and Ron were already sitting,

"Happy Christmas, Hermione!" Ron said as he handed me a knitted sweater from Mrs Weasley.

"Happy Christmas, Ron." I said as I put the sweater over my head.

My hair had been put back to its usual bushiness after yesterday, so it was more difficult to get on.

I opened my gift from Ron first, it was a chess piece,

"It's like the one you took place in during our first year when Harry had to retrieve the Sorcerer's Stone." He explained.

I looked at the piece and smiled,

"It's wonderful, thank you." I said kindly.

Next I opened Harry's gift, it was a brush for Crookshank's fur.

"Can work for you too." He said jokingly.

I gave him a malicious look,

"Not funny." I said.

I had gotten Ron a poster for the Chudley Cannons, his favorite Quidditch team,

"Blimey, Hermione!" He yelled excitedly before running up into his dormitory to hang up his poster.

"Are you and Ron on good terms now?" I asked.

"After he saw me nearly getting eaten by a dragon, he was sure to come around." He replied.

I laughed softly.

As Ron came rushing back, I handed Harry his gift,

"It's a signed picture that I asked Viktor to sign. I had almost forgotten to get you something, but I remembered late last night. I know it's not much."

"It's great. Thanks, Hermione." He said with a soft smile.

I had enjoyed reviewing all of my gifts, and enjoyed giving some as well, but there was one person that I hadn't given a gift to yet- George.

I had given him a basket full of Zonko's jokes to help him get a base of his Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. I also had a book for starting a wizarding joke shop as well as a card that I had spent hours writing last night, and every time I thought about it, I blushed a deep red.

I waited on the couch, drinking hot chocolate with Neville, Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Fred.

"Okay, okay, you go." Ginny said to Neville as he took a bite into a candy that made you make animal noises.

Neville opened his mouth and started sounding like a monkey, doing his best with pretending to be one, with his fists beating against his chest and his jumping around the room with a minor slump.

All six of us began laughing hard and Ginny fell off her seat, which just lead us to laugh even harder.

The laughter eventually ceased, and I decided to ask Fred where George had been,

"Hey, Fred, do you know where George is?" I asked, "I thought I saw him yesterday, but I wasn't sure if he was out of the hospital wing yet."

"Yeah, he's out. I don't know where he is, he was already asleep when I came in." He answered.

I still had the thought of George's look on his face yesterday when he looked at me dancing with Viktor.

I didn't like the feeling in my stomach when I thought about it, it hurt me.

"I'm glad he's alright. I was really worried." I said quietly.

Fred raised an eyebrow at me suspiciously.

"What?" I asked.

Fred and Ron looked at each other, smiling.

"What?" I screamed.

They just shrugged and focused their attention back on their hot chocolate.

I sipped mine as I looked at Ron and Fred curiously.

I quickly put down my drink as I heard footsteps coming down from the boys' dormitory.

I sat up and turned my head and saw a tired looking George with his tousled hair from his pillow.

I smiled as I watched him walk to the arm chair by the couch, yawning and stretching.

"Happy Christmas, George." Ginny said, handing him a sweater from Mrs Weasley.

"Another one of these? I have at least ten now." He said, taking the sweater.

"Don't be mean, they're cute." I said, he glanced at me backwardly, and quickly looked back.

No one said anything for a minute.

"So," Fred said, trying to break the silence, "want to see what I got you?"

George took a while before opening everyone's gifts, and he seemed to enjoy them all, but he was kind of skeptical about Neville's gift, which was a badly knitted red hat,

"My gran knitted it, she just started taking lessons." He said softly.

George just smiled politely and quickly stopped as he put the hat on his pile of other gifts.

"Are you ready for my gift?" I asked excitedly, "Wait! I want to give it to you later, alone."

George nodded and grabbed his pile,

"Thank you all for these gifts, I'm going to put them into my dormitory." He said as he strode off up the stairs.

"Alone?" Fred asked me after George was out of sight, "seems suspicious."

"Oh, shut up." I said playfully, smiling.

After hanging out for a while in the common room, I decided I'd better get dressed, for it was nearly ten o'clock.

I ran up into my dormitory and dressed quickly, looking at the card for George that was attached to the book.

"Who's that for?" Parvati asked.

I quickly turned around, not knowing that she was in the dormitory.

"No one." I said quickly.

"Is it for Viktor?" She asked.

"No," I said, remembering that I forgot about Viktor's gift, "his gift is the pleasure of getting to know me."

She looked at me as though she thought I was stupid.

"How was your night last night?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Um, well... Let's just say Harry and I aren't exactly great as a couple." She said quickly.

"Oh, I'm sorry." I said as I wrapped my red and gold scarf around my neck.

"No, it's fine, I danced with one of the boys from Durmstrang." She assured.

"Ooh." I said, smiling, grabbing George's basket.

"Yeah," she began, "but can you please tell me who that's for?"

"Fine," I said, "it's for George Weasley."

"Really?" She asked.

"Yeah." I said, going slightly pink.

"Well, cool!" She said with a smile and a quick wink, to where I rolled my eyes playfully.

I waved her goodbye and took my basket through the corridors and outside on the steps and into the cold, snowy air.

I stood up and smiled and found myself doing snow angels in the snow happily.

"Having fun?"

I head George's voice and quickly jumped up and began to run and slid on the ice, but luckily he caught me in his arms,

"I got you." He said softly.

I sat down as well as he.

I grabbed my basket and handed it to him.

"It's all your favorite stuff from Zonko's along with a book about starting a joke shop," I explained as he examined the basket, "do you like it?"

He smiled softly and said, "Yeah, thanks."

I kind of expected more than that, but I was pleased that he liked it.

He took the card and stared at it a while, and must've decided not to open, for he put it still enclosed in his basket and started to walk off.

I stood up quickly, being careful not to slip,

"George?" I asked.

He stopped but didn't look back,

"Yeah?" He asked.

"You know I was worried about you. When you were in the hospital wing, you know." I said, blushing very slightly.

"Yeah." He said, still not turning around.

"It was really scary, seeing you fall backward onto the cold ground."

"Yeah." He said again.

"I thought about you a lot. I didn't know what was going to happen."

"Yeah." He said for a third time.

"Why do you keep on saying 'yeah'?" I asked, "we're friends, why don't you say something besides 'yeah'."

"Okay," He said, dropping the basket and turning around, "tell me this: if you were so worried about me, then why did you go and get yourself a date while I could have been dying in the hospital wing?"

"What are you talking about?" I asked, confused and slightly hurt at the raucous tone in his voice.

"If you were so worried about me, then why did you go get a date while I was sick?" He said.

"No, you don't understand. I spent every night the last couple months staying up until one every morning just to find out what was wrong with you." I assured him.

"And apparently I wasn't as important, because you didn't think about me when you went to the Ball with him." He said in an angry tone.

"I wasn't even going to go! I didn't have anyone to go with and I was just going to stay in my dormitory and continue look for what could have possibly been wrong with you."

"But you didn't." He said.

"Unbelievable. I spend every single night trying to figure out was wrong with you and visiting you to see if you were okay and this is how you repay me?" I screamed, "I didn't even think I was good enough for a date, that no one would take me, but then he asked me, and he wanted to go with me! So yeah I said yes."

I found myself talking in a much louder tone for every word I spoke.

George did not speak.

"And I was worried about you. I was really worried, and I'm sorry that I went with him, but I didn't realise that you get to tell me what I can or can't do!"

He looked at me blankly for a few seconds before he began to speak,

"I just wish you knew how much it hurt me to see you with him." He said softly.

I stood there, trying to say something. But I didn't.

"Whatever. It doesn't even matter." He said as he turned and started to walk away.

"George, wait!" I screamed, going after him, nearly missing his basket that he had left on the ground.

"How much did it hurt you?" I asked.

He looked at me, the snow reflecting off of his bright green eyes.

"I want to know." I sad softly.

I stared into his eyes, feeling warm inside, and I grabbed his hand firmly in mine.

He looked at his hand and back at me and said,

"You'll see." And he let go of my hand and strode off, leaving the basket.

I just stood there, watching him walk away, and had one tear steadily flow down the right side of my cheek, but before it fell off of my chin, I wiped it with my sleeve, doing my best to keep myself from breaking down.

I grabbed the basket and took out the letter that I had wrote him.

I gently laid down the basket, keeping the letter firmly in my hands.

I stared at the cover, which wrote For George, Love Hermione xxx

I had all my intent and secret feelings toward him in there, and I knew I couldn't let anyone find it.

Another tear slowly dripped down my cheek and onto the letter on the heart I had written beside his name.

And at this I ripped the letter into pieces and buried it in the snow, heart breaking slowly.

I guess he'll never know...

... To be continued...


	15. Love Can Be Hard

George's POV:

It has been weeks upon weeks since Christmas morning, and I felt like I had a missing piece to my puzzle; I felt empty.

Every morning at breakfast, Hermione and I shared eye contact, she usually looking upset, and I really can't blame her.

I was so hurt by our situation, but she had hurt me by going with Krum to the Ball.

Every night I sat up in my bed, thinking about her and how she most likely hates me now, but I was so upset that I couldn't find it in my heart to feel bad for her.

But there was one thing that I felt bad about, and that was the scarf that she had bought me, which was now an ash pile on my bedside table, that I didn't bother cleaning up.

I thought about how she had bought me that scarf because I had no money, because I had gambled with Ludo Bagman, which she was right about, because Ludo gave Fred and I leprechaun gold, that disappeared after a couple hours.

I remembered the night when she hurt her ankle and I gave her my jacket, and her resting her head softly on my shoulder, slowly falling asleep. And once she fell asleep, I looked at her laying there peacefully, and I smiled, as thought how great it was to have her by my side.

I suddenly felt an aching at my heart at the thought of these memories, and I just wanted to fix this, only I couldn't. I had hurt her feelings, but she had hurt mine, too. It all was a disaster.

At this point I had gotten so mad over my pain, that I knew I had to do something to make her feel how I had felt.

Hermione's POV:

It was now two days until the Second Task, and I was rushing Harry to figure out the next task, and this was hard to do with the knowledge of the fact that I was already aware, more or less, of the task that was to occur quite soon.

"Come on, Harry!" I yelled as he continued to examine the egg, turning it around and upside down,

"You have two days until the next task!"

"Thanks, Hermione. I had no idea." He said sarcastically.

I didn't respond.

I hit Ron with a book on the shoulder as he was starting to doze off, for it was one o'clock in the morning.

The last time I had stayed up this late was when I was helping- oh, excuse me, I mean, rendering, George.

I tried my best to keep my mind off of him, but this was suddenly found very hard to do. I needed to learn, because every time I thought about it, I either wanted to cry into buckets or rip pages out of a book, which, of course, I'd never do.

"You know what? I'm done with this, I'll try it again tomorrow." Harry said as he picked up his books and set off into his dormitory, "good night."

"'Night, Harry." I said as I grabbed my book and noticed Ron snoozing on the couch once more.

I shook my head, smiled and walked up into my dormitory.

"One day, Harry! And you've only just figured out the task!" I said as Harry explained when he took a bath with the dragon egg in the prefects' bathroom.

"I'm aware, Hermione, you don't have to remind me." Harry said reassuringly.

"Okay, so the egg said you have to kill merpeople?" Ron asked, I doing my best not to squeal out the actual situation from behind gritted teeth.

"No, because it said something about retrieving something that they took." Harry said as he flipped the page, looking for something to use in the Second Task.

"Like a hostage?" I asked, still doing my best not to spit out the answer.

"Yeah. So basically I have to find a way to breathe underwater for an hour, and so far I've found nothing." Harry said glumly.

Just as Harry spoke this, Moody came into the library before I could even respond,

"Mister Weasley, Miss Granger, you're needed by Professor McGonagall." He said in his raspy voice.

Ron and I shared nervous glances before agreeing and exiting the library, bidding Harry good luck.

George's POV:

"Ruddy elf!" My twin yelled out the door before he slammed it and started muttering under his breath to himself.

I yawned and stretched, confused of what Fred was yelling about.

"What was that?" I asked, putting my cold feet into my slippers.

"Dobby, he was up here. Said he was looking for Harry.

"I told him not to bother us so early, but he still insisted on finding Harry.

"I told him that he was in the Black Lake. He believed it! But before he left, he reminded me that the house elves in the kitchen do not enjoy us sneaking in there in the middle of the night and stealing their food."

I snorted at his words, "I'm sure Hermione would have something to say about that."

Fred stared at me as though I'd cursed him or something.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing, it's just the last few months you haven't mentioned Hermione once, and tried to forget about her. It just shocked me to hear you mention her." He said, sitting on his bed across mine.

"Rubbish." I muttered.

"What happened to you two?" He asked curiously.

"Don't really want to say." I said.

"Georgie's a chicken?" Fred said with a smirk.

"Stop. No I'm not." I assured him.

"Bok, bok, bok." Fred said, trying impersonate a chicken.

"Stop it now." I said sternly.

He stood up and started moving his elbows up and down and shuffling his feet trying to act like a chicken.

"Stop it!" I yelled.

The chicken noises coming from Fred just continued to grow louder. I knew I eventually had to say something.

"We're just not friends anymore! Okay?" I yelled finally, making him instantly cease his chicken walking and squawking.

"What happened?" He asked concernedly.

"Nothing, it's no big deal." I said firmly.

"I'll do it again." Fred said, referring to pretending to be a chicken.

"No." I said.

Fred raised his elbows and started to squawk, but I quickly stopped him.

"Okay, fine," I said, Fred sitting down, satisfied, "I got off at her because she had gone with Krum to the Ball instead of caring about me."

Fred moved his hand to his head and shook it shamefully.

"Oh, Georgie, if only you knew." He told me.

"Knew what?" I asked.

"She would constantly ask me how you were to the point where I gave her out Ton-Tongue Toffee just to shut her up."

"Fred!" I yelled.

"Chill, mate. What I'm trying to say was that she was so worried about you. She went to see you even more than I did. She told me that she wanted to go to the Ball with you, but she couldn't, and she didn't even think that you'd ask her."

I sat there, listening to Fred, guilt slowly rising in my body. And I thought to myself that if I was awake, I most certainly would've asked her.

"Georgie, she wants to know if you like her, and she's waiting for you to make a move." Fred said with a quick wink.

"What if I don't want to make the first move?"

Fred rolled his eyes,

"You need to tell her how you feel." He said softly.

I thought at this thought for a moment.

"No. I can't. She probably hates me, and I'm pretty certain that she likes Krum." I said doubtfully.

"I doubt it, she's crazy about you. You just need to let her know that you are crazy about her too." Fred said excitedly.

Fred stood up quickly,

"Come on, mate." He said, motioning me to get up.

"Where are we going?" I asked, pulling my clothes on

"To see your lady." Fred said with a smile.

"You know it's the Second Task this morning." I reminded him.

He thought for a moment.

"We'll just meet her there." He said as he grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the door.

I had to walk back into the room, because I had forgotten to do something.

I pointed my wand at the ashes on my table and muttered

Reparo!

And the ashes quickly formed into a green, white, and red scarf, resembling Bulgaria, which I quickly wrapped around my neck.

I rushed out the door, and on the steps, I looked at my scarf and muttered to myself,

"I'm coming, 'Mione." And scattered off.

... To be continued...


	16. Heart Break at the Lake

I rushed through the common room, through the corridors, and onto the Hogwarts grounds to the Black Lake.  
Many of the wizards were there already, loading on boats to the other side of the lake to go to where the champions were to dive.  
I still wasn't completely aware of what the second task was, I only knew  
what Fred and I heard from Ludo Bagman.  
But by the looks of it, the champions most certainly were going to dive.

I surveyed the crowd of wizards, looking for the beautiful bushy hair. But I couldn't find it.  
I was guessing that she had already gone on one of the boats to the diving area.  
"Come on, Forge. What're you waiting for?" Fred asked, sitting in a boat, waiting for me.

"What do you think?" I asked in a 'how stupid are you?' tone.

"Just come on. She's probably already there." He said, pulling my arm, making me fall directly into the freezing lake.

I looked up at him angrily, spitting water out of my mouth.  
He was laughing so hard, that he too fell into the lake.  
This made me begin to laugh loudly.  
"Not so fun when it's you, is it?" I asked, attempting to get inside the boat.

Once we had stepped out of the boat, we were almost completely dry, because the cold February air had been blowing vigorously against us. It was freezing.  
The second task was about to begin, but I still saw no sight of Hermione.

I spotted Harry, who was just about to jump into the freezing water.  
"Hey, have you seen Hermione?" I asked, putting my hand on his shoulder, continuing to look for her.

"Uh, no. Professor McGonagall had to see her and Ron last night." He said.

I guess I was too busy looking for Hermione that I didn't notice that Ron was missing as well. I wondered what it was that Professor McGonagall needed with them. Ron probably got detention, but Hermione was less likely. The last time she got detention was because of me.

I noticed a glop of something green in Harry's hand.

"What is _that?_" I asked, pointing at the green glop.

"Gillyweed. Dobby gave it to me to use to breathe underwater." He said, putting the glob in his mouth. I could tell that it didn't have a great taste by the look on Harry's face.

I had remembered earlier when Dobby had come through the common room, looking for Harry, Fred telling him to leave. And obviously he hadn't listened.

"How'd he find out about it?" I asked, looking down from where we were, into the water, that was pretty far down from where we had been standing.

"He had said that he used Hermione's book that she had left in the library. He said that he meant to return it, but she had already left with Krum."

"She was with Krum?" I said, starting to get mad slightly.

"That's what Dobby said." He said, shaking from the cold air whipping him on his bare arms.

"I can't believe-"  
The cannon sounded, and Harry, very sloppily, dived into the water. More or less. He fell painfully flat on his stomach. The sound sounded harsh and couldn't have ended well.  
I just hoped he could manage to breathe under water.

Fifteen minutes later, not a sight of any champion or Hermione. At this point I gave up looking for her, guessing that she had stayed up in the castle, studying. But why would she do this when her best friend is diving into freezing water for an hour, trying to breathe. I didn't know, but I just wished that she was there, by my side, wearing my jacket, my arms around her, attempting to keep her warm. When I myself was freezing, but the fact that she was warm was all that mattered to me.

"Oh, hey George. Have you seen Hermione?" Ginny asked, standing in front of me.

"What do you think?" I said, tapping my fingers against my knee, hand on my chin, waiting.

"Oh, I'm sorry." She said, sitting beside me, "you like her a lot, don't you?"

"What? Who told you I liked her?" I asked in disbelief.

She looked at me as though I was an idiot, telling me that she thought it was quite obvious.

"Yeah." I said finally.

She began squealing and hugged me tightly.

"Uh. What're you doing?" I asked, looking at her.

"Oh, sorry. I'm just so excited. Have you told her yet?" She asked.

"Of course not!" I yelled, wiping the excited look on her face right off.

"Well, are you gonna tell her?" She asked.

"I don't know, probably not." I said.

She groaned loudly.

"What?" I asked, trying to keep myself warm by rubbing my arms.

"You need to tell her, and soon! Before that Bulgarian Quidditch star sweeps her off her feet." She said quickly.

"Don't remind me. You're the second person to tell me this today." I said grumpily.

"I don't know, I'm just excited for you! I'm pretty sure she likes you, but I don't know." She said quickly.

"And not Krum?" I asked, she was a girl, she should know.

"Oh of course she likes him!"

I looked at her even more grumpily.

She just laughed and replied, "He is a world famous Quidditch player, anyone would be smitten by him. He isn't exactly the ugliest player in the world..."

"Do you like him?" I asked, not understanding girls' minds at all.

"Oh, yeah! All girls do! But Hermione likes him as a _friend. _  
Frankly I'd pick him over you."

"Thanks, Ginny, that makes me feel so much better." I said sarcastically.

"Sorry! But what I'm trying to say is if it was Krum compared to you, I think she'd pick you. Not that I would-"

"Ginny!"

"Sorry! But anyway, I think you're winning this race so far. But he can take her off her feet at any time. And she's waiting for you to tell her how you feel!"

"Been told that before," I started, "but you're right. I need to tell her. I will after the task. I obviously can't go get her now." I said, fully aware that running to the castle to get her and completely missing the task, when she could just have been in front of my face the whole time. But I knew she wasn't, for if she was, I'd be kissing her.  
_Patience, George! Love waits! _Ithought_._

It was forty five minutes into the task, and I was yet to see Hermione.

I noticed blonde, wet hair emerging out of the water down in the lake.  
Fleur Delacour, the gorgeous Beauxbatons' student had been attacked by the merpeople, and was hysterical, yelling in French.

"She's worried because she couldn't save her hostage." I heard Seamus whisper to Dean.

I walked over to Seamus, intending to search for answers.  
"Hostages?" I asked, moving Dean away from me.

"Yeah, there were four people chosen, one per champion, to be tied and captured under water by the merpeople. The champions are to get past the merpeople and free their hostage." Seamus explained.

I was kind of shocked at what he had said, and started to become worried.  
"Do you know who was chosen?" I asked, worry quickly filling my body.

"Uh... Cho Chang for Diggory. Gabrielle Delacour, Fleur's sister for Fleur, Ron Weasley for Harry-"

"Wait, _Ron?_" I asked nervously.

"Yeah, McGonagall asked him, well, volunteered him, as Harry's prisoner to free." Seamus explained calmly.

"Oh, this is bad. My baby brother, tied in the lake. But Harry'll save him, right? Oh this is bad. Oh, well, he _was_ always a pest. Do you know who else was chosen?" I asked.

"Oh, yeah! Hermione Granger for-"

"HERMIONE?" I screamed.

"Yeah..." Seamus said, slightly frightened.

"Oh, this is bad. What if he can't save her? What if she's left there, to die? Oh, I can't let that happen. I have to save her." I muttered out loud.

Seamus looked at Dean confused, who just shrugged.

"I'll get her!" I screamed as I started to jump in the water. But I was grabbed instantly.

"George, you can't go get her." Lee said, attempting to hold me back.

"I have to! She'll die under there!" I said, trying to get out of his grip.

"Stop. Krum will save her." Fred said as though I'd feel better.

I stopped for a second at that thought.

"Oh, I can't let that happen!" I yelled, trying to jump, but they just pulled me back.

I stopped struggling as I saw two heads appear from the water. I was hoping it was Hermione. I'd be fine if it was just her and Krum was still in the water.

At Fleur's wailing, I could tell that she was hoping to see her sister.  
But she didn't.

"Cedric Diggory takes first place with ten minutes to spare!" Ludo Bagman yelled.  
It was Cedric and Cho.

I was upset that it wasn't Hermione, which made me want to jump back into the water, but then I got a big whoosh of freezing cold air on my back and I realised that I might be freezing if I jumped into the water, but then I thought that it would be worth the risk.  
I luckily didn't have to though, because not much longer, another of pair of heads appeared out of the water. It was hard to tell if it was Hermione, because her hair was wet, but I had noticed Viktor, and I saw Hermione's familiar brown eyes, which were full of fear and worry, but also relief.  
As they began to swim back, I quickly rushed down the stairs and tried to get to the edge of the lake as fast as my legs could take me, nearly toppling a couple of first years.

Once I made it down to the border of the lake, I saw Hermione, in a towel, arms wrapped around Krum and her head rested on his shoulder, him with his arms wrapped around her waist. I didn't like the way he held her, and jealousy rapidly grew up inside of me, and I wanted to pounce on him with all the energy I had. But I didn't.  
I looked at Hermione, who was now looking into his eyes, smiling, much like how she used to do to me. He then kissed her on the cheek. My blood was boiling, and at the same time, my heart was cracking into a million pieces.

Here I am, going to forgive her for hurting me just to have my heart destroyed by someone who I thought I loved...

... To be continued...


	17. Love in the Library

Hermione's POV:

It was nice, having Viktor's arms around me while I was freezing after being underwater for an hour, but I needed to tell him soon. I needed to break the news to him that someone else had taken my heart. This was going to be hard. I didn't want to hurt his feelings, but I had already hurt George's because of him.

I was about to say something when he let go of me and slowly pressed his lips softly onto my cheek.

This only made feel more guilty in having to tell him the news.

I sat there awkwardly, his lips on my cheek. But when he pulled them away, I heard rustling in the woods, and I turned around, just to see no one.

"What is it?" Viktor asked.

"Uh, I don't know. It's nothing." I said quickly.

He put his hand on my cheek and closed his eyes as he leaned in for a kiss.

I grabbed his wrist and stopped him before he could do anything.

"Wait." I said, turning away.

"Vot is it?" He asked, looking at me, concerned.

"It's nothing. I just- um." I stuttered.

He put his hand on my wrist and looked directly into my eyes.

"Just tell me." He said so softly, I felt a chill down my spine.

"I-uh... Well, it's just... I like you, a lot, but I don't think it's going to work out. I mean. You live in a different country and, well, you're older than-"

"It's okay. I understand. You don't vont to be with someone who you don't feel comfortable with." He said, letting go of my wrist and smiling.

"Yeah," I said, looking up at him, "I'm sorry."

"As long as you're my friend, I'm okay." He said calmly, "thanks for a good time, Herm-own-ninny."

"It's Hermione." I corrected quietly.

"Right." He said.

We began to laugh softly, and we had a kind and friendly sincere hug. Short but sweet.

We were stopped by the sound of a cannon- the hour was up.

"Cedric, do you know where Harry is?" I asked, walking over to Cedric, who had his arm around Cho.

"I don't think he's made it out yet." He answered, looking on to the lake.

"Oh no," I said, putting my hand on my forehead, worried, "has Fleur made it out yet?"

"She had been attacked by the merpeople and had to forfeit. Her sister is still tied underwater." He explained.

"Oh, that's horrible! Do you know what they're going to have to do?" I asked nervously.

"I don't know." He said calmly.

I began to worry suddenly. I paced up and down the edge of the lake.

It was about five more minutes until muttering started once again. I looked to the lake, two heads appeared. A red headed one, and a blonde, long haired one.

After a while of looking, and the heads started to come closer. I noticed as the two people as Ron and the other one as Fleur's young sister.

I kept looking, waiting to see Harry, but I didn't.

As Ron came over, I quickly rushed up to him as helped him, along with the blonde girl, out of the water.

"What happened? What happened to Harry?" I yelled, wrapping a towel around Fleur's sister, looking at Ron.

"I don't know, I couldn't see-" Ron started, but he stopped on account o Harry finally emerging out of the water.

"Harry!" I yelled, rushing after Harry, throwing my arms around him, "I was so worried. I'm glad you're alive."

"Yeah, me too. I need a towel." He said, shivering from the cold.

"Oh, right." I said, handing him a warm towel.

I heard muffled voices from afar, and couldn't tell what they were saying. It was a deep voice, so it must've been a male, most likely Ludo Bagman.

"Did you hear that?" Cedric asked Harry and I.

"No, what'd he say?" Harry asked, moving the towel vigorously on his head, going to its original tousled appearance.

"You and I are tied! You got extra points for getting Fleur's sister." Cedric exclaimed.

"Oh, thank you so much for zaving my sister!" Fleur yelled, running to Harry and kissing him on the cheek, making him turn bright pink.

"No problem." Harry said, smiling.

"I can't believe you got tied with Cedric!" Ron exclaimed as we walked up to the castle.

"Yeah. I can't either. I wasn't even in the time limit." Harry muttered, wrapping his scarf around his neck.

"I don't care as long as you're alive." I said indignantly. Ron agreed.

"I just want to enjoy the next few months without being nearly killed." Harry said.

All three of us laughed as we stepped up to the castle, still shivering from the cold.

"Ron and I will do our best to help, right Ron? Ron!" I exclaimed, looking at Ron, who had tripped over a rock while looking at Fleur, "you really need to get over her."

"And you need get over Viktor." Ron said as Harry and I held each of his arms, pulling him off the muddy ground.

"Ronald! I never liked Viktor, you know that! I only wanted to be friends with him." I explained, jumping over a puddle of water.

"Then who do you like?" He asked.

"Uh..." I started. I didn't know if I wanted to tell him, "well, he has red hair, freckles, and is tall, like you"

"Oh... It's not me is it?" He asked nervously.

"No, don't worry," I said with a friendly smile, "but... he is related to you."

Ron choked slightly at my words, "One of my brothers?" he exclaimed, shocked.

"Yeah..." I said awkwardly.

"Well, who is it?" He asked loudly.

"I bet I can guess." Harry said. Ron and I both gaped at him.

"And who do you think it is?" I said, crossing my arms fondly and glaring at him.

"Obviously George." He answered. I stopped frowning as he spoke this and looked to the ground. How could he possibly know?

"Is he right?" Ron asked, looking up at me, searching for an answer. But I did not deliver, I stayed quiet.

"Bloody hell." He muttered loudy.

"Shh! No one can know!" I said, putting my hands on his mouth.

"Why can't you tell him?" He whispered in my ear.

"I can! I just... I don't know." I said, wishing the conversation would end soon.

"You should tell him." Harry said. I was surprised that he was supportive of this.

"Oh, right after you tell Cho!" I yelled. He turned pink in his cheeks very quickly.

"I... Well, I kind of already did." He said quietly.

"What! You already told her?" Ron yelled exasperatedly.

"Not necessarily," Harry said, Ron giving him a confused look, "I asked her to the Yule Ball a few months ago."

"And you didn't tell us?" Ron yelled, "Did she say yes?"

I nudged Ron in his side while he squealed. Obviously Cho hadn't accepted Harry's invitation, because if she had, she would have gone with Harry instead of Cedric. Of course, Ron was too oblivious to realise this.

"I'm sorry, Harry." I said kindly, glaring at Ron.

"It's fine." He said quietly.

"Wonder if they'll be celebrating when we get in the common room." Ron said, changing the subject.

"Guess we'll find out." I said as we stepped up the stairs into the castle.

We walked into the common room, that was full with chatter once again, cheering, Butterbeers flying around, signs with Harry's name plastered on them. Excited wizards picking up Harry, cheering.

Potter! Potter!

It was nice to see that everyone was on Harry's side again. The whole room was in uproar for Harry's victory, congratulating him on saving Ron and Fleur's sister.

"Was it scary?"

"How'd you breathe under water?"

"Why did you decide to rescue Delacour's sister along with Ron?"

"Are you upset that you didn't get inside the time limit?"

All of these questions and so much more flew around Harry through the night, he didn't seem to enjoy all of the questions. I wouldn't like it much either, I'd just been in the lake for a little over an hour, and even though I was unconcious, I still just wanted to sit back and sip some Butterbeer.

"Hey, Hermione. Cupcake?" Fred asked walking toward me, holding a gold and red cupcake.

"Ginny told me not to take anything from you." I said with a sly smile.

"Ah, come on! It's fine!" He assured me, taking a seat beside me, still holding the cupcake in front of me.

"Fred, I can see the icing bubbling." I said, glancing at the golden icing on the top of the cupcake, that was indeed bubbling.

"Well. It was worth a try." He said idly, throwing the cupcake into the fire, where it blew up in flames and disappeared instantly.

"So, um," I began, looking around the common room, "have you seen George?"

"Nope. Haven't seen him since the task." He answered.

I wondered why George hadn't arrived yet. This was usually the time out of any that he'd want to be in the common room. I also wondered why he didn't come and see me after I came out of the water. Although, he probably wouldn't be comfortable with seeing Viktor and I/

"Oh. I think I'm going to go look for him. Keep my Butterbeer warm." I said, placing the goblet on the table, and standing up.

"Okay, but don't have too much fun, Granger." Fred said with a wink, I rolling my eyes with a smile.

I looked around the common room, but saw no sign of him. I knew he had been busy with homework recently, maybe he had been studying there?

I thought that this was a good possibilty, so I walked out of the common room and through the corridors, looking through every door just in case.

I didn't see him in any of the classrooms, or the great hall, or any of the corridors, and he wouldn't be in one of the professors' office. He surely wasn't taking one of the secret passages. So the library was the last place he would be.

Once I reached the library, I slowly opened the door, but couldn't see him. I looked through the aisles of books, no sign of his red hair.

I surveyed the room until I came to the end of the library, and there he was, sitting there.

Only his arms were around Katie Bell, lips elegantly touching hers, snogging her over and over again and every time he did it, I felt my heart crumple into pieces.

Every second I stood there, I hurt even more, my heart sank.

I had the feeling my heart was thrown on against a wall, stepped on, and crushed by a hammer into many pieces until I couldn't hold my emotional pain anymore. Tears started rolling down my cheeks rapidly, as I stood there, watching his lips touch hers, him laughing, looking into her eyes, her looking into his. I could have cried buckets that night. Is this what it felt having your heart broken? I never wanted to feel this pain. And it didn't help thinking that this might have been how he felt when he saw me with Viktor, and I felt guilty. I wanted to hide my sorrows in Butterbeer, but I wanted to do it alone, with no one around.

I ran through the empty corridors, continuously wiping tears off my cheeks, some treading off behind me and falling onto the floor. I ran through the common room as quickly as I could, trying to keep myself from attention, which didn't work. I ignored the odd stares I had been given, and Fred trying to see if I had seen George. I had, and definitely not the way I wanted. I ran into y dormitory and fell on my bed, sobbing into my pillow that Fred had grabbed from me earlier this year, making me fall into George's lap. The pillow slowly began to soak as I cried my heart out, wishing I had told him earlier.

He had taken my heart. Only he had taken it and crushed it...

... To be continued.


	18. His Jacket

The next few weeks I tried my best to forget. Every time I had even a glimpse of George, I was quickly on the verge of tears. I didn't understand why he would do this to me. I thought he liked me, but obviously I was wrong.

I spent the next weeks leading up to the final task either studying or with Harry and Ron. No one knew about George and I, and no one knew why we suddenly stayed out of contact. I didn't know if he had gotten with Katie after that night, and quite frankly I didn't want to.

I did my best to ignore that thought, but it was hard to when every where I turned, he was there.

I was hoping going to Hogsmeade again this weekend would help clear my mind of any of these thoughts. I could live without his wild red hair and bright, beautiful green eyes. I didn't know what to do. Should I have told Viktor that I hadn't liked him? Now thoughts swirled around my mind like a tornado. I felt bad for Viktor as well as myself. The emotional pain had hit me, and hit me hard. I regretted forgiving George. I regretted telling Viktor that I wasn't comfortable with being with him.

I hope he's glad that we're even. But we weren't. I never snogged Viktor. He was the only one who kissed me or anything. George's snogging definitely had him quite involved. I didn't think he liked Katie. In fact I had never seen him with her except for at Quidditch matches.

"What is that?" Neville asked as we took the horseless carriages to Hogsmeade, looking at the paper I had in my hand.

"It's the Daily Prophet. Can you believe this rubbish?" I said shoving the newspaper toward Harry, who was across from me.

"Knew it," He said as he finished reading, "knew Malfoy was going to make something up about you and I."

"Yeah. Yet another thing for George to get jealous about." I said quietly as well as absentmindedly.

"What're you talking about?" Ginny asked with serious concern in her tone.

"It's nothing." I said, looking off into the distance.

"Come on, Hermione. We're your friends, you can tell us." Ginny said as Ron, Harry, and Neville agreed.

I have a big and deep sigh before finally speaking, "It's Katie Bell."

"Katie Bell? On the Quidditch team? He doesn't even talk to her during off-season." Ron said precisely.

"I don't know if he even talked to her." I said, still continuing to look in the distance of the carriage, Hogsmeade slowly coming into view.

"Uh, what do you mean?" Neville asked nervously.

I gave another large, glum sigh, "That night after the second task, he suddenly disappeared," I said, trying to keep myself together when having to relive the memory, "so I decided to look for him, knowing he wouldn't miss something like that."

I heard Ginny whispering something to Ron about George, but I couldn't quite find out what she was saying.

"Anyway," I said, regaining their attention, "I looked through every possible room until the library was the last room to check. I opened the door, and after searching, I saw him," I took a big breathe, preventing the tear that was trying to escape from my eye, "snogging Katie. And that's all I want to say." The tear eventually lost grip on my eyelid and slowly slid down my cheek until I caught it with my sleeve.

Everyone looked at me astounded.

"Katie Bell. Who would've guessed? The idiot." Ron muttered, sitting back in his chair.

"The thoughtless git. I'm sorry, Hermione." Neville said, putting his hand softly on my shoulder.

"Can't believe that. She's never been too fond of him, but apparently she is now." Harry said, not understanding sympathy at all.

"The lying git." Ginny muttered under her breath, not realising that I had heard her.

"What do you mean, Ginny?" I asked intentionally, looking eagerly for an answer.

I knew she didn't want to answer anyway, but the fact that we had arrived at Hogsmeade helped her situation.

We walked through the gates that lead to Hogsmeade. I had been to Hogsmeade before, so nothing was new to me. My favorite store out of all of Hogsmeade was probably Honeyduke's sweetshop. I decided that I would go there first.

"Hermione, here's a chocolate frog." Ron said, mouth full of candy, holding a chocolate frog container.

"I'm good, Ron." I said, looking for a Fizzing Whizbee on the shelves.

He looked dissapointed, "Well... can you buy it for me? I used all of my money. And... I've already taken the card out of it." He said, taking a big swallow.

"Ronald! You guys really need to learn how to use your money wisely." I said, handing him a Knut.

"Thanks, Hermione." He said running off.

I just shook my head, smiling.

I surveyed the candy shelves by running my finger across them, much like what I do when I'm searching for a book. I found the Fizzing Whizbees when someone collided in the side of me, knocking me over and onto the ground on my bum.

"Ow, you little-" but I stopped at the sight of those familiar green eyes and felt that crushing feeling in my chest once again. George was standing right there, the guy who I thought I had feelings for. The guy who used to keep me warm when I was cold. The guy who used to smile to me. The guy who comforted me when I was sad. The guy I loved. The guy who broke my heart.

"Oh. Sorry." He said, tensing up at the sight of me, "Here." He said lending me a hand. And as I placed my hand into his, I felt betrayal, regret, guilt, and anger all at once, thoughts running madly through my mind. Emotions flying all over the place.

"Thanks." I muttered under my breathe, walking out of the store as fast I could possibly go.

"Whoa, Hermione, slow down." Ginny said as I passed her, but I stopped in my tracks.

"I'm sorry. Didn't notice that I had been running I guess." I said, walking over to her slowly.

"I need to talk to you." She said, grabbing my wrist and moving me into The Three Broomsticks.

George's POV:

I stood there, watching that bushy haired girl rush out of the store, as though she didn't want to see me. Why didn't she want to see me? I can see why I wouldn't want to see her, but why wouldn't she want to see me?

"George, what do you want?" Katie asked, motioning toward the candy.

"Katie, so I know we had a thing the other night, and it was wonderful, very wonderful, but I just don't want to be with anyone right now." I admitted, but I did want to be with someone, someone who was taken.

"You thought I wanted to hook up with you by asking you what candy you wanted?" She asked, laughing slightly, "Look, George, that night I just wanted help with homework. And I didn't even ask you for help, you offered. And by the snogging, you came on to me. I'm not interested, I never was. You know how I feel about you." She explained.

I didn't know what I felt at this point. I guess I never really liked Katie, or at least like that. I knew why I had kissed her. I was upset about Hermione, and I thought that hooking up with someone would help the case. But that was a stupid idea, Hermione didn't even see any of that. I wish she had, then maybe she'd know the pain I felt.

"Georgie!" My twin yelled, rushing over to me, "Talk to me now, Three Broomsticks. It's urgent."

Before I could say anything, I was rushed out of the store and through the stone passageway to The Three Broomsticks.

"What the heck! What is it?" I screamed as he shoved me into a chair.

"What did you do to Hermione?" Fred yelled, still standing up, gripping my shoulder.

"I don't know what you're- OW! You're gripping my shoulder," I started, moving his hand off of my shoulder, which was difficult because he had such a strong grip on my shoulder, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Ron and Harry just said that you did something to Hermione." He muttered.

"Well, they're lying." I said, trying to sit up, just to be pushed back into the chair.

"Were you snogging Katie Bell?" He asked expressionless.

I paused for a minute before answering, debating on if I should tell him or not. Why was he asking me? "Yeah... Why?" I asked.

"Wow. Great." He said sarcastically, throwing his hands in the air angrily.

"Why?" I asked again.

He slammed his hands on the table an stared me in the eye, "She saw you kissing her in the library. It crushed her, she barely spoke the last few weeks, keeping her distance from anyone. Just because of you! Why would you do that?"

I didn't know what to think, she had seen me snogging Katie, that made me feel in the middle of pleased and guilty, but guilt was winning the race, "Well, now she knows my pain." I said precisely.

"Unbelievable," He said sternly, "That is low George. I can't believe you'd do that! She was crying, George, crying."

I started to feel guilt and hurt in my heart. She was crying over me because I had hurt her.

"What do you mean? She hurt me when she was with Krum!" I yelled, getting states from people around me.

"So you did that for revenge?" He asked.

"No, well, I don't know. I thought it would make me feel better." I said, getting confused quickly.

"And did it?" He asked firmly.

I thought for a moment. Was it worth it? To kiss Katie, who I didn't even like, just to hurt someone I cared so much about? But she hurt me too!

"Well, now she knows how I felt." I grumbled.

He stood there, motionless, anger raging through his mind.

"Wow." He said finally. "I thought you were better than that."

I wanted to say something, I really did. But I couldn't. He stared at me for a few seconds before shaking his head dissapointedly and slamming the door of the Three Broomsticks, running fingers through his hair. And as my twin stepped out of in front of me, I saw that bushy hair and I felt a sharp slit of guilt glide through me like a cheetah. I needed to fix this. I needed to get even, but in the right way, thinking this while glancing at my Bulgarian scarf.

Hermione's POV:

"Two Butterbeers." Ginny told Madame Rosmerta as she took a seat across from me.

"So, why'd you want to talk to me?" I asked when Madame Rosmerta came out of view.

She gave a short sigh, "It's about George." She muttered quietly.

"Oh." I said glumly, not to keen about the idea.

"About calling him a liar. Before he left the second task a few weeks ago, he and I talked. I asked him what he felt about you." She explained, handing me a Butterbeer and taking one for herself from Madame Rosmerta.

"Oh?" I said calmly.

"After a lot of asking and persuading, I eventually pulled it out of him. He admitted to liking you, even though it is quite obvious. And I might have squealed but anyway, the point is, he likes you. Or so he said." She said loudly.

"Well, that's obviously a lie." I said quickly.

"That's what I said! But why would he say he liked you and then kiss Katie? It's just makes no sense." She said, taking a sip of her Butterbeer.

"I don't know, I just know he doesn't want to see me, and I don't want to see him either." I admitted, taking a swig of butterbeer.

"That really stinks. I thought you'd make a cute couple. Oh no-" She said, looking at someone from behind me.

"What is it?" I asked, starting to turn my head around, but she took my shoulders and turned me to face her.

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it," She said, backward glancing at the person, "So, what's up with you and Krum?"

"I, well, I basically told him that I wasn't interested in being his girlfriend. Because I thought I liked someone else." I explained.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" She paused, "Is it okay if I take him?" She giggled, "I'm Just kidding, but he doesn't go without looks."

I started laughing softly at her words, finishing my Butterbeer, "Yeah, I guess so."

"I don't know why you would choose him over Viktor Krum!" Ginny yelled, nearly knocking over my cup. She was getting too excited, and I really didn't want to talk about it any longer.

"Okay, well, I don't really want to think about this anymore. Can we just leave now?" I asked standing out of my chair, Ginny trying to grab my arm and get out of her chair to keep me from seeing the person. But she didn't. I turned around and instantly stiffed up. I instantly noticed him by his bright red hair, his gorgeous green eyes, and his cute freckles. He was standing right in front of me.

"Hi." I said awkwardly.

"Hi." He said equally awkward.

I flashed him an innocent little fake smile and walked out, but he seized my hand, keeping me from stepping any further. As I stepped out of the door, I glanced at my hand inside his, confused. I looked up at his glum-filled eyes and felt suddenly very cold.

He didn't say anything, and neither did I. He simply slowly let go of my hand and took his jacket off and put it on me, I still looking at him, confused. Once he had put my arms through the sleeves, he smiled slightly and whispered in my ear,

"We're even now."

Hey guys! I know this is a long chapter, but hey, who cares? It's getting hard for the couple as they try to work through their own personal issues. What will happen next? I guess you'll have to find out. This is going to be a really long book, this is just the ending of the fourth book and it's already on chapter nineteen! To make it not have like eighty chapters, I'll make each chapter more lengthy or add another book to this one, but I really want to get through all the books after this one if I can, if not, I'll add an epilogue chapter or something. Please, please, please review! I love to hear what you think, and give some opinions to help me become a better writer!

I appreciate so much that you all are keeping up with my story! It means so much to me, so this to all my followers: YOU GUYS ROCK! Keep reading and reviewing, and I'll keep writing! Thank you so much! -HufflepuffQuidditch1

... To be continued...


	19. Third Task Tears

I don't know what he was thinking that him giving me his jacket was going to fix anything. It wasn't. He can't suddenly swoop in and save the day. There are too many cuts and bruises to be bandaged for him to think that he could just suddenly be forgiven. I'm not like most girls, he wasn't going to give me an empty gesture and just have him take my heart.

After I had gotten into my dormitory, I took a quick look at his dirty, old jacket and threw it to the corner. He may have "paid me back" for the scarf I had given him, but he hadn't paid me back for the hurt he's caused me. But there were more things to worry about. I needed to help Harry on his last task, which was rapidly coming closer. The final task was to find the Triwizard Cup in the middle of the maze, with an exception of deadly obstacles throughout the maze.

"Remember all the jinxes?" I asked Harry while rushing to the final task many evenings later.

"Yes. How many times do you have to ask me before you're satisfied with my answer?" Harry asked, nearly tripping on a rock to his left side.

"Sorry." I muttered quietly, still running.

"Are you nervous, Harry?" Ron asked as we approached the Quidditch Pitch, that no longer looked like a Quidditch Pitch, but had been taken up mostly by a dark maze made out of dark green hedges.

"No, I'm fine. I'm only going to go through a maze with deadly creatures and nearly get killed. Who wouldn't be fine?" Harry said sarcastically, sorry still running through his mind.

Ron just looked to the ground, confusion completely full on his face.

"Just try to remember what we've rehearsed the last few weeks." I assured him, with a minor tone of worry at the sound of my voice.

"Right." He said, shaking slightly as we stepped into the Quidditch Pitch and in front of the entrance to the maze.

"Well, good luck, Harry," I said, giving Harry a tight hug, fear slowly trickling through my body as I let him go, "be safe."

"See you, Harry." Ron said, giving Harry a man-hug.

It may not seem like Ron seemed was scared, but I could tell that he was just as afraid as I. After learning that Harry obviously didn't put him name in the goblet, he got some realisation and logic into his life. Which he really needed.

Ron and I made our way to our seats. I quickly started breathing hard, rubbing my legs up and down, starting to feel very cold. And at this point I had wished that I brought George's jacket with me. That feeling ended very quickly, for George sat right beside me, causing me to become even more stressed and uncomfortable than I had already been.

"It's okay, Hermione." Ron said softly to me, putting his hand on my shoulder sympathetically.

"Thanks." I said quietly, continuing to breathe hard.

"Here we are! The final task in the Triwizard Tournament!" Ludo Bagman yelled, his voice echoing through the air, "we have Cedric Diggory and Harry Potter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry tied for first. Viktor Krum from Durmstrang Institute leading closely behind in second place."

I looked at Viktor, who was waving up at the ground, and he looked at me and gave me a quick smile, and I gave him a small, friendly smile, still trying to keep my fear in check.

"And lastly, in third place, miss Fleur Delacour from Beauxbatons Academy. Champions ready?" Ludo Bagman stated, looking at the four champions, who nodded. I looked at Harry, and I was so worried. Just let him be safe. I said quietly to myself.

When the cannon blared, my heart jumped as I saw my best friend running into the deadly maze, the last task out of all three. The most difficult. I felt the fear rise in me so intensely as he, along with the other three champions were out of view and chatter began rapidly around the stadium. Thoughts swirled in my mind.

What if he doesn't live?

What if he's attacked?

Will they get to him fast enough before he loses his life?

What happens if he forgets what we've taught him?

The anxiety only increased. I couldn't hold the stress. I had to get away by myself before my stress took over and I couldn't keep it to myself any longer.

To this I walked through the row I had, George glancing at me as I passed him, his knees running into the back of my leg.

Once I finally got out of our row, I rushed down the steps and outside the stadium.

I started pacing back and forth, fear and stress running through my mind, causing light tears to escape my eyes, running up and down the wet grass, hands on my head.

And then I looked to the sky, and saw a flash of red flicker above the dark night.

My fear and stress cracked and I screeched loudly, falling backward on my bum, tears pouring off my cheek like a river as I kept my view to the sky.

I surely had gone insane, for I was rocking back and forth on my bum, tears falling down my cheek, and muttering to myself. The cannon sounded, telling us that one of the champions hadn't finished the task and had been attacked.

George's POV:

I had noticed a red spark shine in the sky, indicating a champion who couldn't complete the task. And as this happened, I heard a shriek. And as I heard this, I instantly could tell who it was.

"Hermione." I whispered to myself before jumping out of my seat and running off to her, but Fred grabbed my wrist.

"Where are you going?" He asked, gripping tightly on my wrist.

"It's Hermione." I said, trying to pull from him.

"She doesn't need anymore pain or worry than what she already has." Fred said.

I just looked at him. I pulled my arm from him and rushed in the direction of the voice, worried. I didn't care if she wasn't happy with me. When it came to Hermione, I'd do anything to keep her safe, even if she hated me with all of her effort that she had.

"Hermione!" I yelled, rushing over to the bushy haired girl, who was rocking back and forth, hugging her knees, tears streaming down her cheeks from her beautiful brown eyes.

"Shh, Hermione! It's okay." I said, putting my arm around around the crying Hermione.

"Harry." She muttered a few times to herself. She had thought that Harry had been hurt.

"He's fine, that was Fleur." I said to her calmly, which made her ease up slightly. She stopped rocking and muttering, but tears still steadily flowed down her cheek.

I started to wipe the tears off of her cheek, but she grabbed my wrist before I could go any further.

"Do you really think I'd forgive you just like that?" She asked very sternly.

"I-I don't know." I said worriedly, moving my arm off of her. Of course she wouldn't.

"You hurt me." She said, tears glistening in her eyes. Guilt stabbed me in the heart like a knife.

"You hurt me when you were with Viktor!" I screamed. Regretting everything I had done, and mostly what I had just spoken. But I still remembered the pain that I had and thought that, if she liked me, her pain should have been twice as bad.

"Believe it or not, I'm allowed to talk to other guys." She said, wiping tears off her cheek with her sleeve.

"But you were kissing him!" I yelled.

"No I wasn't! He was kissing me. Did you ever see me kissing him?" She muttered loudly.

I had never thought about this. Maybe she wasn't kissing him. He was always kissing her.

"And you were snogging Katie- on the lips! He never kissed me on the lips. And I never let him. The difference here is that you kissed her." She yelled.

She was right. I had kissed her. And I had regretted it. I regretted it so much. The splitting pain I felt when I saw her with Krum was nothing compared to the emotional pain I felt now.

"And I hope you're happy. I told Viktor that I liked someone else. Just because of you! But obviously that was a mistake." She said, tears still falling. I hurt so bad in my chest. And I felt so awful and guilty, and mostly regretful. This was the girl whom I loved. And I had hurt her. I broke her heart. How could I possibly make it up to her?

"I never loved Katie!" I yelled, trying to get her to stop walking, "I was just upset, okay? I'm sorry. I really am. It hurts me so intensely to see you hurting."

"It's too late." She said quietly, wiping another year off her cheek.

"I never meant to hurt you like that. It's bothered me out of my mind seeing you hurt."

"Goodbye, George." She said, continuing to walk off.

There she was, the girl I couldn't get off my mind, walking away again. Hurt by what I had done. This was the time. The time to tell her before she's gone forever. I need to tell her.

"I love you." I said softly, embarrassment and heavy breathing came upon me quicker than I care to mention. It was finally out.

She turned around to me, anger shone upon her face, and she started charging towards me, as though she was going to pounce on me and bring me to the ground. I couldn't blame her. What I had done was underhanded and even I wouldn't forgive myself. But to my surprise, she didn't pounce on me.

She moved towards me, her eyes glistening in the night sky, and even though she was upset and puffy eyed, she was still more beautiful than words could say.

She came up fast onto me. But she didn't tackle me. She threw her arms around my neck, and pressed her lips softly up against mine so elegantly, I felt like I was on a cloud. As she stood there, arms around my neck, lips touching mine.

It was a dream, it had to be. If not, I had died and gone to heaven. I closed my eyes, enjoying the feeling of her body next to mine, and I kissed her back. I wrapped my arms around her, and held her close to me. It was the best feeling I could imagine. The world would be ending, and I wouldn't know. All that mattered then and there was that she was there, safe, in my arms.

Her tongue caressed mine and she kissed me as well as she possibly could, her arms tied so tightly around me. I wish it could have lasted forever. The feeling of the one girl I knew I truly loved, there in my arms, was beyond words.

But the feeling couldn't last.

She let go of her grip and let her lips off of mine slowly, opening her eyes. I opened mine as well, but kept my arms around her waist, never wanting to let her go again.

I'm guessing she forgives me.

Hermione's POV:

The feeling of his lips softly pressing against mine was indescribable. I felt butterflies rise in my stomach. His warm body against mine. I didn't want to end, but it had to. As it stopped, I slowly opened my eyes, and I put my hands in front of his warm chest. I watched him as he slowly opened his stunning green eyes, and I started to get lost in them once again, as I always had. He kept his grip on me, and I no longer felt stressed and fearful, but... Safe.

"I love you too." I admitted, smiling an innocent smile.

He smiled his bright, wide smile at me and took his hand and wiped off the last tear to escape my eyes. And he kept his grip on me, as though he was keeping me safe from danger and pain ever again.

I wanted this moment to last forever. We had finally admitted our feelings towards each other. I suddenly felt as though I had forgotten all that happened. But once they came back into my mind, I slapped him again, having no control on my hand at all.

"Ouch! What was that for?" He asked, holding his hand up to his, now red, cheek.

"Don't snog anyone else again, Mr. Weasley!" I bossed him, smiling

"What about you, Miss Granger?" He asked, closing his eyes again and pulling me into a sincere kiss. I felt warm all over again, and the cold feeling had left me completely, being there, in his arms.

Exclaiming started to go on again, and fireworks went off as our lips stayed locked on to each other. It felt like the perfect time.

It could have gone on forever. But it didn't. It stopped at the sound of screams and shrieks from the stadium and we both let go and looked onward. I had a short glance of a dead body, lying there, lifeless. I noticed dark brown hair, but I couldn't make a face. As George lost his grip, fear quickly filled me again as I rushed to the Quidditch Pitch. Heart beating faster than it had ever done before. The worry rushed over me like I had been struck by lightning.

I ran over to the entrance to the maze, but the body was surrounded by wizards, and I couldn't see it anymore.

"Let me through! Please!" I yelled, trying to shove people out of the way. But I just fell backwards, falling yet again on my bum.

George helped me up off the ground and I wrapped my arms around him again, but this time out of worry and depression, tears falling onto his shoulder, slowly soaking his sleeve. I had immense amount of crying pain thinking that my best friend could possibly be killed. I had never felt this fear before, and I didn't ever want to.

I heard voices screaming over and over again saying,

"He's been killed by You-Know-Who!"

Voldemort had returned...

... To be continued...


	20. Revealed Secrets

"Harry!" I screamed, the vision of the brown hair coming into view slowly, I still staining George's shirt with my tears.

And as I cried, tears now falling so rapidly that I was surprised that I wasn't standing in a pool of tears, the view became clear. There Harry was. No, he wasn't dead, which lifted a weight off my shoulders, but someone most certainly was. Harry was over someone who I couldn't tell at first, but as Harry got off him, to wipe his eyes of the tears, like mine, rapidly falling, I noticed the face. It was Cedric Diggory.

"Oh my God." George muttered, looking at the dead body, lying there, lifeless.

"Harry!" I screamed, as I ran into him, arms wrapped tightly around him, "I was so scared! What-what happened to him?" I asked nervously, still pouring tears.

All he said was, "He's back." I looked at him, full of tears. His cheek was completely stained from crying. He was traumatized.

"He'll be back. Come on, Harry, you need to get away from here." Said Professor Moody, as he took him away, with a struggle.

"No!" Harry yelled, trying to run back to Cedric. He failed. His wails and tears crumpled any good feeling that I might have had. It hurt me so much to see him hurt so badly. He had witnessed something that no one would ever have to think about seeing. Only he had seen it once before. But this time he understood what was happening. He was aware.

I looked at the dead body on the ground, and I continued to cry.

Even though I didn't know Cedric very well, I felt an immense pain at seeing him, lying there, dead, and his father's depressed and fearful wails over his son's lifeless body.

"Oh, my... Oh, God." I said quietly, watery eyed.

George took me and walked me up to the castle, and even he had a couple of tears escape from his eyelids. He had never cried before or so I've noticed.

It was true. Lord Voldemort had returned, and Cedric was the first to fall. He would not be the only one. Voldemort had returned, but he was no longer a spirit. He was alive, unlike his victims.

"We are here today," Dumbledore started grievously at Cedric's funeral a few days later, "to celebrate a student. A student who has fallen, and who is no longer with us. He was brave, kind, generous and noble. It's a shame he had to die so young, with so much life in him. But this is a very serious matter. I know there have been many things that you may have heard. This was not an accident. Cedric Diggory was killed by someone. He was killed by Lord Voldemort."

Everyone gasped, tearfully, in utter disbelief and depression. It shocked everyone who had his words enter their ears and to their minds.

"The ministry doesn't want you to know. But I think it's important for you to know the truth. One of our students has been killed, and unfortunately it was Cedric Diggory," Dumbledore spoke, and even though he was keeping his emotions in control, his eyes still glistened with tears. He was hurting intensely inside.

The funeral went on for hours. But no one cared. Cedric Diggory was killed. He was killed by the most powerful wizard in the world. Harry barely slipped out of death from Voldemort. But how? How did Harry get to Voldemort? When he wasn't even a human? How did he return? And who helped Harry nearly get killed? Who put his name in the goblet of fire?

I wasn't about to ask Harry about this. He was traumatized. He had just seen his friend's life end. You can't ever forget about that, even if you tried. He didn't need to relive the memory. He himself barely slipped from death once again. And the Dark Lord had returned. No one was safe.

"How long has he been sleeping?" Mrs Weasley asked Madame Pomfrey as we sat by the sleeping Harry in the hospital wing.

"About two hours. Not long." She answered, shutting the curtain around us.

"I have so many questions." Ron muttered, hands on his chin, shaking, staring at the floor.

"You mustn't ask him anything. He's been through too much recently. Let him sleep." Bill replied, grabbing a chair.

"You okay, 'mione?" George asked me softly.

I sat there, staring at Harry, sleeping. _He could have been killed._

_Who would do this to him? _  
_Who would put him through all of this? _  
_Had he been the same person who poisoned George?_

I sat there, all these serious questions running through my mind.

"Uh. Yeah." I said absentmindedly, not paying attention.

He put his hand in mine, which distracted me slightly, and I moved my attention to him, with utter fear as I did so.

I looked at him, watery eyed and fearful.

"Don't be afraid. You're safe." He said tenderly, moving his other arm around my shoulder.

I rested my head on his shoulder, still feeling cold. I looked at my best friend, sleeping there, peacefully. But I knew that he may never sleep peacefully again after what had happened. He had only been given a potion for a dreamless sleep. I knew his next sleeps were sure to be filled with dreams. Dreams that no one wants. Nightmares.

"Molly?" Dumbledore asked, walking toward us, looking as though he had severe news. The grievous look had never left his face, "may I see you for a minute?"

Mrs Weasley nodded. She told us to stay here, by Harry's side while she walked out of the room. Everyone was worried as she left.

"What are they going to tell her?" Ron asked nervously.

"Don't worry about it," Bill said apprehensively, "It's late. Try to get some sleep."

And not before long, the room slowly became dark, and I became slightly relaxed. I was slowly falling asleep, attempting not to worry, but just be glad that Harry was alive.

"'Mione?"

I slowly opened my eyes, one at a time, but each felt heavy, but I knew that I must get up.  
As I stretched, the room came into view, and the familiar red hair and green eyes were standing in front of me.

"It's time to leave." He said, helping me out of my chair, that I had fallen asleep in, causing my neck to hurt, but not as much as it could have if he wasn't there by my side.

"Where's Harry?" I asked, wiping my eyes free from sleep.

"I'm right here." He said softly, and he was standing behind George. Face looking sunken, as though he had seen a ghost. But he had seen worst. He was staring at the ground, horror-struck.

"Harry." I said softly, running to him and hugging him so tightly, "I'm so sorry. About everything."

"It's fine." He said, tired and glumly as I eased my grip off of him, "you couldn't do anything."

"I'm just glad you're alive." I said, a single tear streaming down my cheek, but this time, I let it run.

"Let's go home." Ron said as us three, George, Fred, Bill, Ginny, and Mrs Weasley, who must've returned after I had fallen asleep, walked together out of the hospital wing.

"Mum, do you know who did it?" Ron whispered, distancing himself from Harry, so that he couldn't hear.

"Yes. I do." She said quietly, no expression grew on her face. She looked very tired, bags under her eyes, a deep and sleepy tone in her voice.

"Who was it? I'll kill him, I tell you." Ron said sternly, still keeping his voice down.

Mrs Weasley stopped in her tracks.

"People have tried before," Mrs Weasley started, looking at Ron's frightened face, "You must not tell a single soul unless they're in your family. You understand?" She said sternly as well as quietly, her voice growing more tired sounding with every word that she spoke.

**George's POV:**

"Where's she going?" Fred asked, turning around to Hermione.

"How am I supposed to know?" I asked, looking at him.

"I don't know, she is your girlfriend, right?" He asked, smirking slightly.

"What!" Ginny squealed. We both had forgotten that she was walking with us.

"No," I said, glaring at Fred, "she's not."

"But you wish she was." Ginny said admittedly.

I did not speak.

"He didn't deny it." Ginny assured Fred.

"Did Georgie lock lips with the Granger?" Fred said mockingly.

I didn't respond again, but this time going pink in the cheeks.

"George's been getting busy, eh?" Fred said, smirking.

"Shut it." I said quickly.

We stopped in our tracks as a familiar black dog trotted across our path.

"Sirius!" Ginny screamed, but the dog went on.

"Guess it wasn't him." Fred said, shrugging.

"No. It was."

We all turned around to see Harry standing behind us, from the path the dog had come from.

"What's Sirius-"

"Snuffles." He said quickly, shushing Ginny.

Ginny looked at me and then at Fred, confused. We both shrugged.

"Sir-er-Snuffles. What was he doing here?" Ginny asked questionably.

"To talk. I needed to see him." Harry said, beginning to walk as we followed him.

"Oh. Okay," Ginny said sheepishly.

We walked in completes silence until we made it to Hogsmeade station, to see the familiar bushy hair and not far behind her, Ron and Mum, who looked as though they had been waiting for us.

I came over to the door of the train, to where Hermione was standing.

"I need to talk to you all." She said, referring to Fred, Ginny and I.

"Okay." I said half confused and half concerned as we stepped on the train.

**Hermione's POV:**

"Mad-Eye Moody?" Fred yelled as we all sat into our compartment.

"No, that can't be true. Was he under the Imperius Curse?" George asked, taking the empty seat beside me.

Harry had gone with Ron so I could explain what I had heard to the others.

"No. It wasn't really him," I said, wrapping myself tightly in my jacket. "It was Polyjuice Potion."

"So that's what he's been drinking from his hip flask?" Ginny asked sincerely.

I nodded, "He turned the cup into a Portkey as well as put Harry's name in the Goblet of Fire." I explained.

"Who was it?" Fred asked firmly, with a serious expression on his face.

"Barty Crouch Junior." I explained, hearing small gasps.

"B-but how? Wasn't he imprisoned in Azkaban?" Ginny asked fearfully.

"He could've escaped. Sirius did, didn't he?" Fred said smartly.

"Obviously not," I said matter-of-factly, "first of all, he's the first person to actually escape Azkaban. Second of all, it would be in the news almost instantly. We would've heard it by now."

"Okay, then how did he get to Hogwarts?" George asked, ignoring Fred's shocked and offended look.

"His mother was dying. His dad, Barty Crouch Sr., had them both take Polyjuice potion, so she could be imprisoned and he could live with his father," I started, "he had kept him under control, but then he escaped and captured Moody and locked him up, taking his hair every hour."

Everyone looked at me with astonishment and interest, so I kept going.

"So that's why Barty Crouch has been gone for so long?" Ginny asked.

I nodded and went on, "he killed his father and stunned Viktor Krum in the woods. So basically, he pretended to be Moody and put Harry's name in the goblet. And he was in charge of placing the Triwizard cup in the maze, so he created it into a Portkey to please his master."

Everyone sat back in disbelief and astonishment.

"So, he's back, isn't he?" Ginny asked.

I looked at her eager and fearful eyes and responded, "I'm afraid so."

It was silent for a while until George's voice appeared.

"So what about me?" He asked as I turned my head to him in confusion, "Who poisoned me?"

I gave a deep sigh, "He did. Only it wasn't meant for you. He heard about Harry and my 'relationship' and he had seen us study together. He believed all that rubbish about us. And since I had been spending so much time with him, he thought I was being a distraction and he wouldn't complete the task with a girlfriend on his mind. He didn't know that none of this was true, like most idiots who believe the Daily Prophet, so he attempted to poison me. He was in the Invisibility cloak and put the goblet next to me. Only I didn't drink it. George did." I finished explaining.

There was a slight pause. They were taking it all in.

"So George saved you?" Fred asked, a smirk forming on his sky face.

"Well, without knowing." I said smartly.

"Who said I didn't know?" George stated as everyone turned to him, looking for explanations.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"After detention the first week, I noticed a bottle in his office. A gold one, that simply can not be fooled for any other because it's color is so rare. It had the symbol on it, meaning it was a poison. As I walked out, I heard Moody saying something about how after Harry wins, there's to be a celebration and that's when he was going to poison her. He was speaking to You-Know-Who. At that time I didn't believe it. But then I saw a trunk clattering and screaming, which only meant that he was keeping someone in there. At this point I didn't believe it was him at all, but I wasn't sure. I knew his plans were on a girl from Gryffindor, and I didn't know who, but when I noticed the gold in her drink, I took it and drank it myself." George explained.

Everyone's jaws were dropped.

"So you knew all along?" Fred asked.

"Well, no. I didn't have any proof that it wasn't him. I asked him if it was him." He said.

Ginny started laughing hysterically.

"You asked Moody if he was Moody?" She giggled, "that was so stupid!"

I looked at him, and tried not to smile, and he looked at me.

"Don't. Don't do it." He said sternly.

I bit my smile until I couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Sorry." I said sympathetically, looking at his embarrassed face.

"He took a poison for you, Hermione!" Fred yelled, but he too had a smile on his face.

I smiled at George and whispered, "Thanks."

He lost his embarrassed look and grinned, "Any time, Granger."

The rest of the ride was silent, especially when Harry and Ron returned. No one wanted to ask Harry any questions. They all knew now what they needed to. The deed was done.

"Bye, Ginny." I said, giving her a small hug at Platform nine and three-quarters.

"Bye, Hermione." Ron said to me as we gave each other a quick hug.

I turned around and saw George standing there, smiling at me.

I ran up to him, and he picked me up of the ground.

"I'm going to miss you, Grangey." He said, setting me on the ground.

"I will miss you as well." I said softly, smiling.

He pulled something out from his back.

"You forgot something."

I had left my jacket that he had given me on the train. He put the jacket on me and smiled.

"Look hot, Miss Granger." He said, still smiling widely.

I rolled my eyes playfully at him with a slight smirk.

"Don't get into any trouble, Mr. Weasley." I said fondly.

"Come on, Georgie, stop flirting, it's not gonna work." Fred said laughingly.

"I beg to differ." George said before turning to me and kissing me on the cheek and replied to my earlier comment.

"Trouble? Without you? Couldn't imagine it." He said with a quick wink and I watched him walk away as I wrapped myself tightly with his jacket and smiled...

_Author's Note_

Yay! Year four is completed! There will most certainly be more drama as the time grows with confessions of feelings and mischief to be managed.

Stay tuned for Hermione's fifth year, that is sure to be filled with drama, tears, pain, fear, and most importantly... Love.

Thank you all for reading! And I hope you continue to read, there's so much more for the couple.

•HufflepuffQuidditch1•

•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•

... To be continued...


	21. Number 12 Grimmauld Place

The denial of Voldemort's return only grew as the days past. There were articles in the _Daily_ _Prophet_ almost every day, and, of course, were full of rubbish.  
I continued to get subscriptions from the _Daily_ _Prophet_ to keep up with the Wizarding world. But at this point, I was to stay at number 12 Grimmauld Place, the Black house, until the beginning of the school year with the Weasleys. This was the meeting place of the Order of the Phoenix, which is a group of wizards who support Dumbledore and are keeping up with Voldemort's where abouts.

I stepped up between numbers 11 and 13 Grimmauld place, but saw no number 12. This was a Muggle neighborhood, so I didn't know why or how the Order would meet at 12 Grimmauld Place when it wasn't even there.  
I stood in the warm summer night for a few minutes, looking around for 12 Grimmauld Place when I heard a voice.

"Here we go." Mr Weasley's friendly voice showed up, and close behind him followed his red headed family, well, most of them.

"Hello, Hermione," Mrs Weasley said kindly, emerging from behind Mr Weasley, "I'm so glad you made it."

"I am too." And behind Mrs Weasley approached a smirking George, who had grown at least an inch since I had last seen him.

I smiled slightly before hearing a swoosh, and I turned around and there it was, number 12 Grimmauld Place, I didn't know how it randomly showed up, but it was there.

"It needed to be disguised." Mr Weasley assured me, "just try not to be seen, there are Muggles around."

I nodded before sneaking quietly onto the house, that looked both old and run down, with many panelings above the door were about to fall off of their hinges. And beside that, there was a window that had broken pieces of glass, and the summer air was swooshing into it and blew the dirty and ripped curtain behind the broken window. Each area of the house looked as though it hasn't been cleaned in at least twenty years. The plants and grass in front of the house were grown up to be almost as tall as Ginny. And behind the plants was mold on the front of the house. It most definitely not pleasing to the eye.

"Hope we don't die of disgust in here." Ron muttered, gagging at the sight of the house.

"Ron, don't be rude," Mrs Weasley said frankly, "no one has lived in here for years, of course it's not going to look as nice as most places."

Mr Weasley knocked rhythmically on the door, and the door creaked, and a wild eye approached behind it.

"Who is it?" Croaked the voice, his eye swiveling all around.

"It's Arthur, Alastor," Mr Weasley said quietly, trying to not disturb the neighbors.

The door shut and I heard a clinging of the chain that had been keeping the door closed, and it swung open. And as it did so, I noticed a round man with disheveled grey hair that touched his shoulder, a regular eye as well as a wild one, that circles around in its socket, scars on his cheek, and one of his legs wasn't a real leg, but a wooden one. As I looked at him carefully I noticed him as Mad-Eye Moody, only I had never met him, I met the one impersonated by Barty Crouch Jr., the real one was locked in a trunk in Crouch's office, but obviously wasn't anymore.

"You're Mad-Eye Moody. The _real_ one," Ron exclaimed as he stepped through the door, nearly missing a hole that was right in front of him.

"That's right, no Death Eater is pretending to be me anymore. And I must say, it's nice to be out of that trunk, it was quite uncomfortable," Moody said with a couple soft chuckles from Ron and Ginny.

Moody looked out the door to make sure that no one was looking. And once he saw that the coast was clear, he shut the door.

I stood there, looking around, and the inside wasn't any better than the outside, with a few places where the wall paper was peeling off. And down the hall were... Elf heads!

I gave a quick gasp, "That's awful!" I screamed, looking utterly disgusted.

"Yeah, the Blacks weren't the nicest people," Moody stated in his grouchy voice.

"Well, not all of them," said a familiar voice, who emerged from the shadow.

He had a sunken face and looked quite tired, but he was smirking. His hair was dark, messy and long, less tidy than Moody's hair. His clothes looked slightly dirty and wrinkly, but it was better than a prisoner's outfit. It was Sirius Black.

"Is this your house, Sirius?" Ron asked questionably.

"Well, it was, until I was kicked out when I was sixteen for being a blood traitor," he muttered with a soft sigh, leaning against the dirty wall.

"Why? What happened?" Ginny asked eagerly.

"Well, you see, my family was pure-blood, and they all were sorted into Slytherin, where I was sorted into Gryffindor. I never agreed with them anyway. They hated mud-bloods," Sirius said, looking sidewards at me, making me kind of nervous, "but I didn't. And when I was sixteen they had had enough of me, so, they kicked me out."

"What happened then?" Fred asked, interested.

"The Potters opened their home to me. Nice folks, they were," He said smiling, "Anyway, let me show you to your rooms."

We all followed Sirius down a long, dark hall, and as we stepped through, and ear-piercing scream emerged from a portrait of an old witch and everyone plugged their ears almost instantly.

"YOU ARE A DISGRACE TO THIS FAMILY!" Yelled the portrait.

"I would like you all to meet my mum," Sirius said, but most didn't hear him what with the yells, "you must always be quiet around her. She's not very friendly."

"YOU BLOOD TRAITOR-" she stopped yelling as he covered her portrait with a maroon sheet.

"Shall we?" He said with a quick smile before starting to walk again.

"Remus! That's impossible, you know. Dementors in-" yelled a woman's voice, but it was stopped as we stepped through the door and into what looked like a kitchen.

We looked at the girl who had pink spiky hair, and her mouth was still open, for she was in mid conversation before we interrupted her.

"Guys, this is Nymphadora-" Sirius started before she quickly interrupted.

"Don't call me Nymphadora! It's Tonks," she corrected.

"She only goes by her surname," Sirius explained.

"Nice to meet you," she said, shaking our hands vigorously, one at a time. And when she did, her hair turned purple.

"Whoa..." Ron said, looking in awe at her hair.

"You're a metamorphmagus?" I asked, uncertain.

"Yep! Can change my appearance any time I please. Which is good for when I'm having a bad hair day," she said kindly.

"Wicked. How do you become one of those?" Fred asked.

"You don't," she replied, Fred looking dissapointed.

"So like a werewolf kind of thing?" Fred asked.

"Not exactly," said a voice from the other side of the kitchen, "people are born metamorphmagus, unlike werewolves who are bitten and stuck that way."

"Remus is always a stickler," muttered Tonks with a smile.

"Professor Lupin?" I asked with a smile as I noticed him

"That's right Miss Granger," he said with a friendly smile.

And his tall, lean self appeared, but he, like Sirius, looked very tired and worn out.

"Are you staying here too?" Ron asked excitedly.

"Yep, we're not the only ones, you have the whole Order staying," Tonks said.

"The whole Order is staying in _this_ place?" Ron asked, looking at the water dripping from the ceiling.

Sirius gave Ron a hurt look and said, "I tried my best to clean it up around here, but Kreacher isn't exactly a big help."

"Who's Kreacher?" Ginny asked.

"Our house-elf," Sirius told her, and ironically as he finished, a long nosed, hairy eared, barely clothed, old looking house elf appeared from behind us, muttering to himself.

"He doesn't like me very much. He believes in a blood traitor as well as most of my family," Sirius explained, looking disgusted at the old house elf as he left the room, continuing to mutter insults under his breath.

"He's not very attractive, is he?" Ron asked, watching Kreacher leave the room as I nudged him.

"Er-Sirius?" Tonks whispered in his ear.

"Yeah?" Sirius asked quietly at the fiery-haired girl.

"We have a situation- a big one, it's really urgent, we need to talk as soon as possible," she explained quietly.

Sirius nodded before saying, "Uh, Hermione, Ginny, you will be staying on the second floor, first room to the right. And Ron, you'll be staying on the room to the left," He explained, "Fred and George, you'll be staying on the third floor, straight ahead and it's the first door you see. Try to ignore the snoring, that's Mundungus... Or Tonks."

"I don't snore!" Tonks yelled at Sirius, who nodded with a smile before mouthing to Fred and George, "Yes, she does."

"Why do we have to leave?" Ron asked, grabbing the handle of his luggage.

"Because we have a meeting that you lot don't need to be listening to. Now, go on!" Mrs Weasley said, moving us out of the door before shutting it behind us, Ron muttering something under his breathe.

"Too bad we don't share a room, Granger," George said quietly as we sneaked by the witch's portrait.

I gave him an evil look before saying, "Yeah, I would hate to miss out on your sleep talking about me," I said with a small smirk.

George instantly turned his head to Fred and looked at him with a deathly glare, "You told her!" He yelled, grabbing Fred's collar, and Fred threw his hands into the air innocently.

"I didn't tell her anything!" He yelled, afraid.

The both of them looked at me suspiciously and I just smirked wider.

"You two are too easy," I said smartly before walking in front of them proudly.

Ginny and I walked up the stairs and into our bedroom on the right as Fred and George apparated to the top floor. They had been enjoying the ability to use magic ever since they became of age.

Ginny and I walked into the room and we could instantly tell that it was better kept than the rest of the house. There were a few places where the wallpaper was peeling, but not as bad as downstairs. I think Sirius and Kreacher paid more attention into taking care of the bedrooms since people were sleeping in them, and nobody wants to sleep in a dirty bed.  
I rolled my trunk to the side of the bed nearest the window. The bed had a quilted blanket with one small coffee stain, but by how it smelled, it had been cleaned. More or less.

"I guess we better unpack." Ginny said before I agreed.  
We opened our trunks and began to unpack.

**George's POV:**

Fred and I apparated up to our room, only he had forgotten his bag, so with a snap and a flash, he was gone. And with another, he returned.  
We walked straight forward to a brown and white door (the door had been dirty) and opened the door with a squeak.

"Wow," Fred muttered as we stepped inside the bedroom.

There were two queen sized beds that had surprisingly been cleaned, or at least looked like they were. There was a big window to the right of the room, and to the left was a wardrobe. The wallpaper was an ugly shade of green, and had some light spots to where they had been cleaned. Some of the paper was peeling, but most was not.

"Sweet. At least it doesn't look like the rest of the house," I said with a small laugh as I muttered _Wingardium_ _Leviosa_ and my clothes started to fly out of the trunk.  
Fred, who was to my right muttered _Alohomora_ and the wardrobe opened as I carefully placed my clothes into it.

"Isn't it great, Freddie? To be able to use magic?" I asked, leaning with my arms behind my head and onto my bed.

"Yes it is, Georgie. Now let's use it for fun," As he said this, we exchanged smirks and snapped.

And as I disappeared, I reappeared on a bed a floor below. And I felt the springs bounce as I said to the girl who was sitting in front of me,

"Hey beautiful,"

She jumped up off the bed and screamed.

"George! Don't do that!" She said, breathing fast.

I sat up on the bed, "Nah, you'll get used to it."

I looked over at Ginny, who was glaring at me.

"You may be able to use magic outside of school now, but that doesn't mean you can just apparate in our room any time you want," She yelled loudly.

"Granger loves it," I said, smiling at Hermione.

She paused for a minute, looking at me before she said, "You're mental. Why would I possibly want to jump every time I breathe because you suddenly pop up out of nowhere?" She asked, folding her clothes and placing them in the wardrobe.

"You want help?" I asked, jumping off her bed, "Too bad you can't use magic. Well, you can-"

"I'm not going to break the rules and get thrown into Azkaban, or worse expelled," she said, quickly folding now.

"You need to get your facts straight, Hermione," I said, grabbing one of her shirts.

"That's what I've always said!" Ron said as he walked into the room.

"Ronald!" She yelled.

I grabbed the last thing in the trunk and I was delighted. It was the jacket I had given her last year when we were in a fight.

"You kept this?" I asked as she turned around quickly and looked at the jacket that I was holding up.

"Of course I did, what do you think I was going to do with it?" She asked, placing the last item of clothes that she had folded inside a drawer.

I smelled the jacket, and it smelled brand new.

"You cleaned it?" I asked, trying to put it on, but it was too tight, "And shrunk it."

"That wasn't intentional, I liked it being too big, because then it reminded me of the fact that it was yours," she said, blushing slightly, "but once it shrinked, it fit me fine. So I kept it."

She took the jacket from me and tried it on. It looked like it fit quite well. And as she twirled around to show off the jacket on her body, all I could do was smile.

"Okay..." Ron said awkwardly, "So, what do you think they're talking about?"

"Harry, obviously," Said Ginny as she closed to door to her wardrobe.

"Well, yeah, but what? I know he hasn't been able to hear anything about You-Know-Who because of Dumbledore making us swear to secrecy, but what could it be about?" Ron asked, sitting on Ginny's bed beside Fred.

"I don't know, just don't worry about it," Hermione said, taking her pillow with the initials HG stitched on it and putting it beside her other pillows.

"I wish we could tell what they were saying," Ginny said as she took a seat on Hermione's bed next to me.

"Hey, why don't I get to sit on _my_ bed?" Hermione asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Oh, sorry. Do you want to sit on my lap?" I asked jokingly.

She took the big pillow on her bed and hit me right in the face.

"Just like the old days, eh, Granger?" I asked, leaning back and smiling at her holding the pillow.

Just then, Fred came from behind and pushed her right on top of me.

"Hello," I said, looking down at her. She was bright red as she raised her head up, and she was obviously quite embarrassed.

"There is a way we can eavesdrop-"

"Fred! I am going to kill you," she said, starting on to pounce him, but I grabbed her arms and pulled her out of the room.

"Getting comfortable, were we?" I asked with a sly grin before she smiled and smacked me across the face.

"Ow! Hermione! Stop slapping me," I said, rubbing my cheek.

"Sorry," she said softly as she wrapped her arms around me and pulled me into a hug.

I was utterly confused...

... To be continued...


	22. Late Night Rouse

As she wrapped her arms around me and gently laid her head under my chin, I took my arms and wrapped them around her waist.

"I missed you," I said softly, her warm body leaning against mine, "but I could go without being slapped in the first two hours."

She let go slightly and looked up at me and I looked down at her.

"I said sorry," she said, smiling.

"I know. But I've got to be honest, the fiery part of you is kind of hot," I said, keeping the urge to kiss her as I looked into her beautiful brown eyes.

She took her hand an ran it through my hair.

"You're cute, Georgie," she said, smiling.

"Yeah, I know," I said, taking my arms off of her and leaning in for a kiss. But she put her hand on my chest, so I stopped. I felt really embarrassed, and my cheeks were tomato red now.

"What's wrong?" I asked awkwardly.

"It's just, I don't know," she said, I feeling kind of nervous.

"Yeah, right. I shouldn't've-" I started, scratching the back of my head awkwardly.

"It's not that, it's just," she said, trying to explain, but no explanation came out.

"Yeah. I understand," I said regretfully, "Let's just go back in. If you don't tackle Fred."

She laughed nervously as I opened the door, and behind it was Fred, Ginny, and Ron, all having theirselves huddled beside a cream colored string, and as we opened the door. We got shocked and nervous looks from the three guilty culprits.  
Hermione crossed her arms and replied.

"Were you all listening?" She said fervently.

"... And that's how we can eavesdrop the Order meetings," Fred said innocently with a smile, wishing that we'd be convinced.

"Not funny," I said glumly as I plopped myself beside him on the bed, regretting anything that I had done.

"Ouch, you got rejected," Fred whispered in my ear.

I gave him a threatening look, and I wanted to pounce on him. That's one thing Hermione and I agreed on at this point.  
I was so done with this situation at this point, and since the sky was steadily growing darker, I just apparated back into my bedroom. I fell tiredly on my bed and groaned. I wiped my hands up and down my face. That was humiliating.

It was nice being alone for ten seconds before Fred apparated to his bed beside mine.

"Hey, mate," he said, taking off his shoes.

"Please do not talk to me," I said, taking my hands off my face.

"Hey, I'm sorry, but I had to explain how to use the Extendable Ears," he said laughing.

"Of course you did. During one of the most humiliating situations I've encountered," I said, sitting up.

"She'll come to her senses. In the meantime, let's get ready for bed," Fred said with a slight smirk and I gave him a suspicious look before opening the wardrobe.

_POOF!_

And a multicolored powder shot out of the wardrobe, turning me into a multicolored hot mess.

I turned to Fred, wiping the powder off of my eyes. He was on the ground laughing hysterically, his right hand on his forehead and the other clutching his stomach.

"Stupid git," I muttered angrily.

**Hermione's** **POV:**

Ginny and I stayed up late that night, pondering about what could have possibly been wrong, and what they were discussing in the meeting. As the minutes past, the sky outside steadily grew darker, until the moon and stars grew visible, and both of my eye lids started to become heavier by each minute.  
I bid Ginny good night, but sat awake in my bed, looking at the sky, hearing Remus, Mr and Mrs Weasley go into their rooms and lock the doors. And Tonks and Mundungus walk up to their rooms on the third floor. The rest of the Order along with Sirius slept downstairs. The noises silenced not long after. Everyone was now asleep.

I sat in my bed, looking out the window, looking at the bright glowing moon, and the twinkling stars. I couldn't sleep, I didn't know how, I didn't know why. My eyes wanted to fall, but the rest of my body didn't.  
It was now two in the morning, and my stomach groaned loudly. I unwrapped myself quickly and swung my feet onto the cold floor, and tiptoed to the door. I slowly creaked the door open to make sure that no one was awake. And by the distant sound of Mundungus' snores showed me that everyone was asleep. I stepped one foot out of the room, and then the other and slowly closed the door behind me with a small creak. I made my way down the hall and crept quietly, careful to not wake anyone up. Each stair had a small, yet quiet creak. And as I stepped on the last stair, my foot fell into the wood with a loud clunk. I squealed with pain before seizing my hand over my mouth and listening to see if anyone had woken up. As the sounds faded, all I heard was distant snores by Mundungus, that indicated that no one had woken up, or at least he hadn't.  
I tried to grab my foot and pull it out of the wood, but my ankle only hurt more, and the feeling of a steady, cold drizzle flowing to my foot meant that it was drawing blood. I kept on trying to pull my foot out, causing more blood to drip, and the pain became more and more immense with each try. I pulled and pulled until I jumped slightly at fright at the sound of a voice right beside me.

"Sneaking out, are we?"

I could feel his presence behind me as I clutched my hands around my ankle. I turned around and looked up at those familiar green eyes, and beneath them shown a usual smirk as he seemed to have quite often.  
George had found me stuck inside of a stair at two in the morning.

"Uh... No, I just. I, well, uh..." I stuttered nervously.

"My Grangey's starting to sneak out- all on her own!" He said, smiling.

I gave him a smug look, "Okay, just help me. The wood is cutting into my ankle," I said quickly, keeping him from saying any more for the pain continued to increase, and at this point I was quite sure that my ankle was dripping with blood.

"Alright. Here," he said, holding his arm out and wrapping his arms around my face.

I gave him a concerned and suspicious look. He smiled at me with a wink before I gave him a glare. He tightened his grip and pulled me out of the stair, a flush of intense pain and hurt fled through my ankle, and I wanted more than anything to cut off my ankle. The pain was so bad that I was certain that the piece of wood was completely through my ankle.

It was a great relief once the wood left my ankle, but to my despair, the pain certainly did not.

I gave a small yelp of pain as George settled me onto the ground in front of me. I felt cold tears welling up inside of my eyelids, waiting to flow. I looked quickly down at my foot, which was covered with maroon blood.

"It's okay, baby," George said sheepishly, receiving another glare from me, "Hey, it's your fault you got your foot stuck in the stair in the first place. And I would think that a witch as clever as you would be able to get yourself out of this situation."

"First of all, this place is broken in more ways than one, someone was bound to get hurt sooner or later. And second of all, I can't use magic outside of school," I explained quickly.

"Harry isn't either, but that didn't stop him," George stated, sitting beside me on the cold ground.

"What is that supposed to -Ouch!" I said before feeling another rush of pain flow through my foot.

"Oh, one second," he said, pulling a small bottle from his pocket, "here, take this,"

"What is-" before I could finish, he shoved the bottle into my mouth.

I gave him a confused look before moving my attention onto my foot, which no longer hurt. As I glanced at my ankle, the blood disappeared and so did the holes that the blood was flowing from.

"What? How'd you do that? What _was_ that?" I asked, gazing in shock at my healed ankle.

"Shh, baby, don't worry about it," He said slyly.

"Hey Georgie, if you call me baby one more time, I swear I will hex you," I said angrily.

"Too bad you can't use magic outside of school," George said smartly, "but call me Georgie again, I love it."

"Okay, _Georgie_, I'm leaving," I said standing up and walking towards the kitchen.

"You're welcome!" He yelled, watching me walk off.

"Thanks!" I yelled quickly, keeping my focus on the kitchen.

"Hey, what are you doing down here, anyway?" He asked, following close behind.

"I couldn't sleep," I muttered quickly, stopping in my tracks.

"Dreaming about me, huh?" He said, moving beside me.

"You wish," I said, spinning around to him, "what were you doing up? Talking about me in your sleep?"

"How could I be talking in my sleep if I'm awake?" He said as I rolled my eyes, and turned away, "But, really, why were you awake?"

"I don't know... I mean I guess it's because I was worried about what they were discussing. I guess they do this a lot, but it just concerned me," I admitted, opening the fridge that was full of expired food, that gave an awful smell, "I think I'll wait to eat."

"So you want to know what they were discussing?" George asked as I gave a quick nod, walking around the counter.

"Wait, what you said earlier, about Harry using magic outside of school, did that have to do with it?" I asked, grabbing a seat behind the table.

He nodded before filling the empty seat beside me.

"He used magic outside of school? After all that I taught him. I can't believe he would go outside of the rules and do something like this!" I yelled.

"He had to, Hermione. He was attacked by dementors," He said quickly, a swish of confusion filling my mind.

"_Dementors?_ In Little Whinging?" I asked, flabbergasted.

"Apparently. He used the Patronus Charm in front of his pig of a cousin, Dudley, and now he could be expelled," He explained.

"_Expelled? _Unbelievable, unbelievable!" I exclaimed angrily, "He's not expelled _yet?_"

"No, he has a hearing in a few weeks in the Ministry, and is to stay there until someone picks him up and takes him here," George explained.

"Here? Oh, when that weasel gets here-"

"You realize that he could've been worse than dead if he hadn't have used magic. He could've been kissed, which is awful when done by dementors, but when it's done by you..."

"George!"

"Sorry, sorry," he said embarrassedly, "anyway, he could've been kissed by a dementor along with his ruddy cousin if he hadn't used magic."

"I guess you're right," I admitted, "but he still could've followed the rules!"

"How could he possibly have followed the bloody rules if he was attacked in a Muggle town by dementors?" He asked sternly.

"Alright, alright," I said coolly, "but why? Why would dementors be in Little Whinging? Do you suppose it's because of the Dark Lord?"

"I don't know, I guess we'll find out," he said leaning backward in his chair.

It was a prolonged, thoughtful silence as I sat there, staring at the tabletop, confused.

"How'd you know all this?" I asked so loudly that George jumped from being startled that I had spoken after being silent for so long.

"Well, Fred and I used the Extendable Ears, you know, the things that helped them listen into our, um, conversation," He said awkwardly.

"Oh..." I said quietly with a small pause, "well, it's three in the morning now, we ought to go back to bed."

"Right," George said.

I stood up out of my chair and twisted around to the stairs, George quickly getting out of his chair and following me. George ran in front of me and put his hands on my shoulders.

"Do you think we can start where we left off?" He asked happily, me completely understanding what he meant.

"Not at three in the morning," I exclaimed with a smile, "Georgie needs patience... And sleep!"

He smiled at me with a small laugh, "I don't know if I can wait," He said softly, "and as for sleeping..."

"George Weasley!"

"Sorry!"

"I'm tired, I need to go to bed, and so do you," I replied.

"I can take you to bed," He suggested happily.

"Nice try, Georgie," I said ruffling my hand in his fiery red hair.

"Well," he said, enjoying having me run my fingers through his hair, "good night, I guess."

I leaned on my tips of my toes and pecked him softly on the cheek, "Good night," and I strode off happily, ignoring the hole in the steps.

I quietly sneaked up the stairs, but jumped from George appearing behind me.

"Merlin! Don't do that anymore!" I yelled, but quietly, keeping myself from waking up the whole house.

"Can I at least walk you to your room? It's good for a young girl to have a handsome mature adult escort her back to her bedroom," He offered smartly.

"I don't know about mature or smart," I said, flashing him a small smile.

"So I'm handsome?" He asked hopefully.

I just smiled again with a wink, this delighted him. I started creeping down the hall again, George following me nearby. I made it to mine and Ginny's room, hearing deep breaths from her.

"Well, I need to go to bed," I said softly.

"Okay," He said, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me into a warm hug, which made me want to fall asleep there, right in his arms. And I might've if it wasn't for the snores from upstairs snapping me out of it.

"Um, well, goodnight," I said quickly, letting go of my grip and slowly creaking the door open.

I tiptoed quietly to my bed and hid myself under the covers with satisfaction. I was no longer wide awake after seeing George. He made me relax intensely. He made me feel safe. I was almost asleep when I heard a soft, kind voice outside of the door,

"Good night, 'Mione."

... To be continued...


	23. The Letter

The Order had a lot of meetings about Harry the next few days. Of course, I wouldn't know about it if it wasn't for George and the Extendable Ears. Mrs Weasley eventually caught us and put a charm on the door so we could not listen in on the meetings anymore.

"Come on! Fred and I are already of age, we should be able to listen in on the meetings," George said, standing idly by Mrs Weasley as she set the table for lunch.

"Only experienced and wise wizards are to be in the Order, and you may be 'of age', but you most certainly have not matured a single bit," Mrs assured him as she set the sandwiches in the middle of the long, oval shaped table.

"You think I'm mature, don't you, Hermione?" He asked, pulling a chair from the table and sitting down next to me.

"Let's just say, you're not the brightest bulb on the tree sometimes," I answered with a smile.

"What's that supposed to mean?" George asked, reaching across the table to grab a sandwich.

"It means you're a git," Fred said fondly, appearing inside of the room, "I'm not, right, Hermie?"

I tried to pull myself away from starting at him and managed to keep my cool as he called me 'Hermie', which he was very knowledgable about how I did not wish to be called that any longer. Then again, he is Fred, and he'll go out of his way just to annoy me.

"Not the slightest, Freddy," I said jokingly.

"Hey!" George exclaimed loudly.

"Would you two just eat?" Mrs Weasley said to Fred and George as she set down the last plate of food, "I didn't spend an hour and a half to fix your lunch just to watch it sit there, uneaten."

George gave me a sideways glance before taking a bite into his ham and cheese sandwich.

I grabbed the sandwich with bacon, lettuce, tomato, cheddar cheese, and mayonnaise. It was my favorite kind. I also grabbed some celery and cauliflower as well as Pumpkin Juice.

"I'm starving. What's for lunch?" Mundungus asked, stepping into the kitchen, surveying the table.

"Mundungus!" Mrs Weasley said with a serious tone walking over to him, "you're supposed to be watching... Y'know. Remember last time you didn't?"

Mrs Weasley was trying to stay from our eyes' attentions, not wanting anyone to get too curious and starting to ask questions that she could not answer. I, on the other hand, knew exactly what she was talking about. Mundungus was supposed to be keeping an eye on Harry the night the dementors attacked Little Whinging, and this is why the Order was more uptight with Mundungus than usual.

"Ah, don't you worry, lass. He'll be fine; we're off to pick him up soon-"

"Shh!" Mrs Weasley muttered to Mundungus, looking around to see if anyone was looking at them and listening in with ease, "So you've got him? What time will he be here?"

"What time will who be here?" Ron asked, stepping beside Mundungus with Ginny trailing close behind him.

"Took you long enough. Now, go take a seat and eat your lunch, it's going to get cold!" Mrs Weasley ordered sternly, pointing at the empty seats across from George and I.

"Come on. What about you, Dung? Can you tell me?" Ron said moving slowly, but leisurely towards the chair, keeping his focus on Mundungus.

Mundungus started to say something, but quickly stopped at the ominous glare Mrs Weasley gave him.

"No, sorry mate," Mundungus said with a slight look of fear on his face.

"Well, you'd better be off soon," Mrs Weasley said, grabbing paper bags from the counter and handing them to Mundungus, "give these to the rest. And Mundungus, please do not eat Remus' lunch, I know how you are."

And before he could say anything, Mrs Weasley quickly shut the door right in front of Mundungus' face and turned back to us, who were all looking up at her with curiosity lingering through our minds.

"Nope, that didn't look suspicious at all," Fred said sarcastically.

"Stifle it, Fred," Mrs Weasley said sternly, walking to the counter to clean it off. No more words were said at the table, but everyone seemed to be very suspicious. Mrs Weasley isn't exactly the best at keeping secrets.

It had been a few hours since most of the Order dispersed to gather Harry from the Dursley's. I'm sure that Harry must have been in quite a fright for Harry having many older wizards entering his bedroom, most of the wizards he was not familiar with. He only knew Remus Lupin, and he hadn't seen him in almost a year. He kind of knew Moody, however he had never met him, for it was Barty Crouch Jr. with his Polyjuice Potion portraying as Moody.

Ginny, Fred, and I were watching Ron and George play Wizard's Chess when I heard the faint knocking on the door.

"Check mate!" Ron yelled, his Bishop slicing George's Pawn in half.

"Rematch! That's not fair, you cheat!" George yelled at Ron loudly, not hearing the knocks downstairs.

"No offense, George, but Ron was beating you since you started," Ginny reassured George, laughing.

"Rubbish," George muttered, throwing his last chess piece across the chess board and leaned back in his seat.

"Did you hear that?" I asked, my ear pressed against the door.

"Hear what?" Fred asked, walking over to the side of me and pressing his ear against the door as well.

"Harry's here," I said, stepping away from the door because I heard footsteps treading up the stairs.

Fred pulled his ear away from the door at the sound of the knob being turned.

"Harry!" Ron exclaimed, standing up quickly as the door flew open with Harry and Mrs Weasley behind it.

"Here, Harry, you'll be staying in here with Ron," Mrs Weasley said as she set Harry's trunk on the side of the empty bed, "Now I need to go to another meeting, and don't even try to listen in on it, you hear?" She glared at George and Fred, who exchanged satisfied expressions.

We all nodded quickly, and she closed the door behind her and walked off into the dark hall.

"So, Harry, what'd you do this time?" Fred said, looking at Harry, who was opening his trunk.

I nudged Fred and walked over to Harry.

"I'm glad you're staying the rest of the summer with us, Harry," I said, a small smile upon my face.

"Yeah," He said quietly, not looking up at me.

I gave Ron and worried and confused look. Ron shrugged.

"Do you need help?" I asked, referring to unpacking his trunk, but by the way he responded, he had something bigger on his mind.

"I did,"

"What do you mean?" I asked worriedly.

He did not answer. At this point I knew that there was something going on and I motioned George, Fred, and Ginny away.

After a lot of persuading and Fred and George flapping their arms up and down, imitating my motioning, they dispersed from the room that steadily grew gloomier. What did Ron and I do?

George's POV:

I mimicked Hermione's motions as she tried to get us to exit the room, you know, just to stir the pot. But when her motioning slowly turned into something that looked like a death threat or something, I apparated upstairs, closely followed by Fred, who must've also gotten the memo. She did start after us after all.

"Yeesh, Potter's uptight," Fred said, laying back on his bed.

"Yep," I agreed, sitting on my bed, listening to the old, rusted springs bounce as I sat on it.

"Any explanations, Georgie?" Fred asked, turning to me with his arms behind his head.

What does he mean explanations? What did I do? What does he know?

"What are you talking about?" I asked confusedly.

"I know you were up a few nights ago," Fred explained to me.

"Yeah, so?" I asked, hoping he didn't eavesdrop yet again, "and how'd you know?"

"George, we're twins, don't you think I'd be able to tell when you've left or gotten up? We're connected," he said, laughing.

"What did you see?" I asked curiosity getting the best of me.

"Let's just say when you and your lover-"

"Fred!"

"What? I know you're in love with Granger. It's not exactly a secret," Fred assured me.

"Just go on!" I yelled, his distraction from the subject getting on my nerves.

"Oh, Georgie didn't deny it. You love Hermione!" Fred joked around, making a noticed effort to make fun of me.

"Stop! Just tell me what you saw," I told him, trying to get off the subject, because I had been rejected by her yet again with an attempt to kiss her. I wasn't exactly doing so well at the moment.

"Anyway, I noticed a bloody hole in the bottom of the stairs. At first I told myself, 'Georgie's been snogging a lot', but then I thought to myself, 'No, that can't be, who would want to snog George?'"

"Oh, shows how much you know!" I yelled, losing my patience rapidly, unknowing of what I said, knowing it sounded suspicious.

"Ooo, have you been snogging recently, Georgie?" Fred asked curiously, sitting up from his bed with interest shining on his face.

"That's not what we were talking about. Just tell me what you did after you saw the hole," I said, trying to sail my boat away from the iceberg that was coming closer rapidly.

"Oh, no, Georgie, you brought it up. You have my full attention, one thing my professors can't seem to get," Fred said, looking at me with all his focus and interest.

I stared at him with disgust for a few minutes, looking at his eager face. Knowing Fred, he wasn't ever going to let this go. I shouldn't have said anything, his focus never left me.

"Okay, I did," I admitted after a long silence, way longer than it should have been, almost to where it was awkward.

"Really? You had your first kiss before I did? But this doesn't make sense, I'm the attractive twin," Fred stated in disbelief.

"Fred, I thought you already knew this, even Ginny knows," I said quickly.

"I knew you liked her, but I never thought she'd actually lock lips with you," He said.

"Well, thanks for the support, mate," I said sarcastically.

"So you got rejected when you asked for a second kiss?" Fred asked curiously.

I nodded quickly and embarrassedly.

"She obviously thought the first kiss was so awful that she didn't want to do it again. I can't blame her," Fred said, hopping on my last nerve.

"Hey, at least I've kissed a girl," I said proudly.

"I have too!" Fred exclaimed loudly.

"Mum doesn't count," I said, laughing, standing up and walking to the wardrobe.

Fred didn't answer, which made me laugh hysterically; on the inside at least.

"What are you doing in there?" Fred asked as I grabbed my night clothes from the wardrobe.

"Doing something you don't- takingashower," I said, laughing softly.

"I do take a shower! It's just not the right week," Fred said in an undertone.

"It is for me," I admitted.

"You've got to smell nice for your lady," Fred announced laughingly, "wouldn't be taking it with her, would you?"

"Fred! Of course not!" I exclaimed loudly, I'd never do that to her, at least not right now.

"You're a good guy, Georgie," Fred said, smiling.

"I know," I said, stepping quietly out of the door.

I walked down the dark halls, a quiet creak in every step I took. It had been two hours since Hermione shooed me away, surely they were finished talking. I moved down to the bottom floor, which was far, since I was on the third floor, then I realized that I could have just apparated.

I opened the door quietly and stepped inside, closing the door slowly behind me. I stripped down and stepped into the shower and noticed a letter that was half soaked beside the drain. I picked up the letter, careful for it not to rip, and laid it softly on top of the counter. Most of the words were blurry from the water smudging the quill's writing. There were only two words that I could pull up that read 'Let go'

What could that possibly mean?

Let go? Let go of what?

Who wrote it?

And why did they write it in the shower?

These questions swirled about my mind, and each time it did so it left a hideous mark of curiosity and confusion. I wish I could reveal who had written it, but there were too many parts of each letter of the words that were smudged, it was hard to see a certain type of handwriting.

As I stared at the letter I was holding, I heard a knock on the door. Realizing that I was buck naked, I grabbed a towel and wrapped it quickly around my waist.

"Is anyone in here?" Came the soft, kind voice of Hermione.

"Yes ma'am, unless you'd like to come and join me," I said jokingly, trying to ensue conflict as I shoved the letter in the trash, keeping my memories on the two words that I had read.

"Um, no thanks," She said loudly with a raucous tone, "Just, will you be done soon?"

"Maybe, maybe not," I said quickly. I wasn't quite sure what game I was going to play with her.

I thought the letter surely was hers, but if she just now was asking to use the bathroom, surely it was the first time she'd be in here. I mean, who takes two showers a day?

"Ugh, just hurry," She said with annoyance shining from her voice behind the brown wooden door.

As I heard her footsteps disappear, I dropped the towel and stepped into the shower, letting the water rapidly trickle down my body, thoughts rising in my mind.

It felt like I had been in the shower for hours, when it had only been ten minutes. When I finally turned off the water and stepped each foot carefully onto the cold floor, and I thought to myself We're wizards, isn't there some spell to get us clean? It would be a lot quicker.

I dried myself off and got dressed into my night clothes, and as I was about to step outside of the door, I remembered the letter, so I grabbed my wand and ran to the trash can. I gave a deep sigh and muttered Incedio! and the letter evaporated in flames and disappeared.

It was now midnight. I sneaked quietly through the dark halls. Almost everyone was either in their beds or asleep, and I knew at least Mundungus was, for his snores were visible from down here. But by who I saw, not everyone was in their beds. On the dark grey couch lay a sleeping Hermione, a towel under her arm, and the soft breathes that quietly reverberated against the pillow her head lay on. I walked toward her, the girl so peacefully sleeping away. Her hair strewn across the arm of the couch. I smiled softly at her. She had been waiting patiently for me to exit the bathroom, and now she was in a deep sleep.

I knew that she'd be woken up quite early the next morning by Kreacher's angry mutters or Remus clattering dishes, as he was always a morning person. I quickly apparated into my room, and dropped my clothes into the wardrobe floor, a quick glimpse of my sleeping twin on the opposite of the room.

I apparated back downstairs to where Hermione was still in a deep slumber. I took one of my arms and moved it under her legs and the other behind her back and slowly lifted her off the couch. The memory of when I had carried her at the Quidditch World Cup flew threw my mind. This warm and fuzzy feelings filling my body as I looked at her beautiful, tired face, and I quickly took her into her room and laid her softly onto her bed. I pulled up her sheets and comforter and put it over her.

I looked at her, sleeping peacefully away and I leaned in and kissed her cheek. I felt as though this was the last time that I would kiss her for a long time...

_Author's Note_

•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*

Hey guys! So, I am so sorry about being late on these chapters, I have been just so busy recently. I hope that it will die down soon with school ending. Anyway, I have decided to ask you all for an idea for George and Hermione to encounter in some of the next chapters, so tell me what you think in the comments, and I'll pick my favorite and publish it in a new chapter! Also, I made a new book cover, hope you like it. I have had this book at a PG or G rating, but I intend to 'spice things up' a bit soon, because the actual books have serious issues. However, I want to keep my readers' variety open, so it's not going to be inappropriate or mature or anything like that, but I can guarantee you that it will get interesting.

Have any questions? Feel free to ask!

Once again, thank you SO much for reading! It means the world to me that my writing is appreciated. You guys rock!

Keep writing, keep reading, and keep cool.

•HufflepuffQuidditch1•

•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*

... To be continued...


	24. Luna's Offer

Hermione's POV:  
Today was the day of Harry's hearing at the ministry. I knew he was nervous, and he had the right to be, frankly I'd be scared myself if I, a fourteen (soon to be fifteen) year old girl in a room full of wise, yet judge-mental wizards out to find justice to the Ministry in any situation. Some of the Wizards can be stubborn, and some can't. I'd never been there, but being my 'bookworm' self, I knew a lot about the Ministry.  
I didn't see Harry depart with Mr Weasley, because they left quite early in the morning, and only a couple of people were awake. I'm guessing that they had to dress as though they were Muggles, because we were in a Muggle neighborhood. Harry of course knew how to dress for he lived with Muggles, just like me. Mr Weasley, on the other hand, didn't know as much considering how he dressed last year at the Quidditch World Cup.

I woke up at about nine in the morning, and trotted off down the stairs, rubbing the sleep from my eyes as I entered the cheerful kitchen, which was filled with a delightful smell.  
"Breakfast, Hermione?" Mrs Weasley asked kindly, setting a plate of bacon and eggs in front of the chair I was standing behind.  
"Thank you, Mrs Weasley," I said tiredly followed by a long yawn.  
"What's for breakfast, mum?" Fred asked, walking into the kitchen, followed by his twin.  
"Nosebleed Nougat? Puking Pastilles?" George asked happily.  
Mrs Weasley had a sudden look of utter horror on her face, "DON'T EAT THAT, HERMIONE!"  
But it was too late, I took a bite of my eggs, and almost instantly my nose gushed with tomato red blood. I quickly grabbed ten paper towels and rushed into the bathroom and leaned over the sink.  
"Boys! How could you?" Mrs Weasley yelled so loudly that I think Harry could have heard her clearly, "you're grounded! Give me your wands. Both of you. Now!"  
And they must've given her their wands, or she might have grabbed them, because she didn't say anything else, but huffed angrily.  
"You 'kay, Grangey?" George said, leaning on the door's opening.  
I didn't answer. I couldn't answer, blood was flowing rapidly out of my nose, filling the sink with disgusting red liquid. I felt my head getting lighter and lighter, my vision getting blurrier and blurrier until I felt myself fall backwards against the wall.  
I had fainted, thanks to George and Fred's stupidity.  
On the bright side, my nose stopped bleeding.

"Hermione? Are you awake?" Mrs Weasley's voice started coming clearer and clearer.  
I opened my eyes, one at a time, and saw Mrs Weasley, Fred, George, Ginny, Ron, and Mundungus huddled over me.  
"Blimey, Hermione, you took quite a fall," Ron said as I caught the vision of his red hair and blue eyes.  
I had suddenly remembered why my head had an immense amount of pain and a huge knot, and my anger rose.  
"I'm fine," I said sternly, leaning up, my hand on the knot on the back of my head.  
"Fred and George, I am very disappointed in you, no wand privileges until school begins," Mrs Weasley said, turning to her two guilty twins, "and no inventions or I will personally come to your school and take them from you. Do you hear me?"  
"Yes, mum," they said in unison, before looking at each other mischeviously.  
"Here, Hermione, take this," Ginny said, handing me a potion inside of a bottle. I didn't know what it was, but my head was hurting too much to care, so I quickly opened the bottle and chugged it.  
"Hermione, no! Not that much!" Ginny yelled fearfully.  
I instantly felt my pain disappear, and my knot was gone, but I felt a rush of energy and excitement, and I quickly jumped up from my couch. My pupils were so tiny, nearly microscopic. My hair stood on end, more than it usually did. I had gone hyper.  
"Mom? Where's the counter curse?" Ron asked his mother nervously.  
Mrs Weasley pulled out her wand and muttered something, but I didn't hear it, I had almost instantly fell into a sleep once again.

I woke up eventually. I felt like I had been asleep for days. I didn't know what day it was, but I knew I was not in the bed I had been in before. I opened my eyes and the sun shone brightly as I shielded my eyes.  
I yawned and stretched when I sat up, I looked around, and familiarity grew quickly. I knew this place, I had been here before.  
But what was this place?  
Why did I remember it?  
I sat there for a few minutes in a confused thought until I heard my door creak open. I quickly turned my head and saw George standing at the door with a concerned look glued on his face. I couldn't remember anything after George and Fred pranked me with a Nose Bleed Nougat.  
"Hermione! You're awake!" He said cheerfully, running over to the side of my bed, "I thought you'd sleep forever."  
He tried to hug me, but I pulled him back and looked at him angrily.  
"I can't believe you! I passed out because of you, and then..." I couldn't remember what happened after that, "and then... What happened after that? Is there a reason why I'm here? And what is this place?"  
He looked at me for a second before speaking, "you took an overdose of a Healing potion, you went insane, and that side effect usually doesn't happen, so mum's counter-curse didn't work correctly, and sent you into a two week long sleep. We had to get you out of the house, and since we had to get out books anway, we came to Diagon Alley. We're at the Leaky Cauldron. School starts tomorrow, and since we were already here, we decided to stay here until school began. If you had woken up earlier, we might have gone back home, but you didn't," He explained quickly.  
"Who else is here?" I asked.  
"Just my family, Harry, and you, it would be suspicious if the whole Order stayed here, and Sirius can't leave until his name is cleared," He said.  
I looked at him blankly.  
"All of this because of your stupidity," I said firmly, "when will you learn?"  
His smiled slowly faded, and guilt grew as he stared at the floor awkwardly and regretfully.  
"Hermione!" I looked to the door to see Ron and Harry running up to me.  
"You're awake!" Ron yelled happily, rushing over to my bedside, "I never thought you'd wake up. I was getting worried."  
"Well, I am now. And we need to catch up on what I've missed for the last two weeks. How was the hearing, Harry?" I asked, moving my feet to the side of my bed and onto the cold floor, looking up at Harry.  
"He's not suspended!" Ron cheered, not understanding that I wasn't asking for an answer from him.  
"Oh, Harry, that's great! Are you cleared?" I asked, a grin growing from ear to ear.  
"Yeah, I had a witness," he said, "Fudge was furious."  
"Who was your witness?" I asked curiously.  
"Arabella Figg," he answered.  
"Who is that?" I asked, although the name seemed oddly familiar.  
"The woman who found Dudley and I during the dementor attack," He explained.  
"Is she a wizard?" I asked.  
"She's a squib. I never knew, and she's been my neighbor for as long as I can remember. Right now, I really don't care, I'm just glad I can go back to school," he said.  
"Oh, me too, Harry!" I said, wrapping my arms gleefully around him.  
"That's not all," Harry said blankly.  
"What is it?" I asked nervously, expecting bad news.  
"You know how they are choosing the house Prefects this year?" Ron asked.  
"Yes..." I answered, confused.  
"Well, I was chosen as a Prefect!" Ron said excitedly.  
"Oh," I said in disbelief, never thinking that Ron would take after Percy, who wasn't on great terms with their family, because he believed that Harry was a liar, but that's a different story, "that's great, Ronald!"  
"And you're one, too!" He said just as excited.  
"Oh, really?" I said happily, "Oh, that's wonderful! What about Harry?"  
Harry shook his head expressionless, but I knew that it bothered him.  
"Oh, I'm sorry, Harry!" I said, trying to be sympathetic at the same time as being confused about Ron, and being excited about me getting Prefect.  
"Come on and get dressed, we're about to go to get some Butterbeer to celebrate," Ron said, standing up.  
I nodded and they walked off, George still stood there as a I stood up from my bed and looked for my trunk, which was conveniently beside my bed.  
"What do you want, George?" I asked, pulling my clothes from my trunk and onto my bed.  
"I'm sorry, Hermione, I really am, it was meant for Mundungus, but you just happened to take the wrong plate," He said sadly.  
"Can we not do this right as I wake up from a two week sleep?" I asked, grabbing my clothes up into my arms.  
He nodded glumly and walked to the door, and as he moved away, I caught a glimpse of the mirror behind him. I screamed loudly, looking at the hideous sight, and he turned around quickly.  
"What is it?" He asked concernedly.  
"My... Hair!" I said, touching my spiked hair, which was all over the place, and at least four times as bushy as usual.  
"I don't know, Granger, I kind of like it," he said with a smile.  
I gave him a disgusted look, "Now is not the time."  
George's POV:  
We were rushing down the side of the train tracks, trying to avoid Muggles' eyes, which was very hard to do. Hermione refused to speak to me after the 'incident'. I was moving farther and farther from where I wanted to be with her.  
We eventually stopped between platforms nine and ten, checking to see if anyone looked at us suspiciously. Luckily no one was, but a few were concerned about our black dog, who came along with us to bid us good bye. Sirius was sniffing peoples' legs, looking as though he was trying to smell what a Muggle smelled like.  
"Okay. Fred, George, you go first," Mrs Weasley whispered as soon as she noticed no one was looking.  
I shared a smirk with Fred before rushing to the wall and as I went through, I forgot to stop and slammed into the side of the train loudly, my trunk falling on it's side.  
"Nice one, Georgie," Fred said, laughing.  
"Thanks for the sympathy, mate," I said grumpily, pushing myself off from the train.  
I turned around, and saw Neville Longbottom, trying to keep his slimy toad in between his hands.  
He didn't do it so well, however, because Hermione came rushing through the platform and fell on top of Neville, making him drop his toad as he fell onto the ground with Hermione.  
"Oh, I'm sorry, Neville!" She said sympathetically with a smile.  
"It's okay, Hermione. I'm used to it," He said with a thankful smile.  
Hermione got off of him and held out her hand and he grabbed it and she pulled him up hard that it knocked her over, but she fell into his arms.  
I suddenly felt hot in the head, and my grip on my trunk increased intensely. I didn't even notice Sirius running through the platform in his dog form, chasing a butterfly, as Remus tried to catch him. My attention was somewhere else.  
"Thanks for catching me," She said kindly, letting go of him.  
"It's- No problem," He said nervously, looking at her with a nervous smile.  
I felt jealousy enrage throughout my body.  
Why should I be jealous of him?  
She'd never fall for Neville Longbottom!  
It would be insane. Wouldn't it?  
"Okay, get on, children! You're going to be late," Mum said after the train whistle sounded.  
I looked at Hermione and Neville, who were laughing happily, before grudgingly stepping onto the train, bidding Sirius, who was holding a butterfly in his paws, Remus, Mundungus, Tonks, dad, and Mum goodbye.  
I had to find a compartment before that git Malfoy took it.  
I had found one that was empty, but almost instantly Malfoy and his posse stood right in front of me, blocking me from the door.  
"Sorry, this one's taken," He said, getting sniggers from Crabbe and Goyle behind him.  
"Git," I muttered under my breath angrily before Malfoy shut the door with a smirk upon his face.  
I groaned, and continued to search. So far all of them were taken, until I came to the last compartment. Inside was a single person sitting there, their face hidden behind a magazine that was upside down.  
"Who is in there, George?" Ginny asked, trailing behind me.  
"I don't know," I admitted honestly.  
She took a step in front of me and looked inside the window.  
"Oh, that's just Luna," she said, opening the door, "it's fine."  
"Who's Luna?" Harry asked, stepping inside.  
"I am," the girl said dreamily, keeping her face hidden behind the upside down magazine.  
I looked to Ginny for support, trying to get a better understanding of this strange girl.  
"Luna Lovegood, she's a Ravenclaw in my year," she explained, taking a seat beside Neville.  
"What are you reading, Luna?" Neville asked curiously, looking at the magazine, confused of how she could be reading upside down.  
She didn't respond.  
"Who are you?" She asked, her eyes peeking from the top of the magazine, revealing the strangest looking spectacles. They looked like two hands with sparkling colors thrown messily around the lense, which was in the middle of the hands. She was very strange.  
Luna Lovegood? More like Loony Lovegood.  
"I'm not anyone," Neville said sheepishly, embarrassed slightly.  
"Yes you are! That's Neville Longbottom," Ginny said.  
She closed her magazine and laid it on her lap. She was a strange girl, a round, but thin shaped head, with high cheekbones. Her skin was very pale, her blue eyes shone brightly with a reflection of sunlight under her unique glasses. Her hair was bright blonde, curly hair, that was so long that it rested onto her lap, and was strewn across her side flowingly. Her nose was thin as well as her lips, which were a pale pink. Her eyebrows light brown and thin. Her earrings of a strange swirl of colors.  
"Well, Longbottom, you must learn confidence," Luna said, her voice high, but flowing dreamily.  
"So I've been told," He said, looking down at his lap.  
"Maybe a wise girlfriend would do the trick," She said, everyone giving her odd looks, "Not me! Someone who knows him well."  
We all looked at her suspiciously.  
What could she possibly mean by that?  
I suddenly thought of Hermione. I looked around and only saw Harry, Neville, Ginny, and Luna.  
I wonder where Fred and Lee ended up. I didn't hang with them because I had decided to keep myself from any pranks or anything, and I knew they'd want me to.  
I didn't want to hurt my relationship with Hermione, more than I had already. I can't believe I was doing this. I didn't know who I was anymore. Hermione better appreciate this.  
But where was she?  
"Where's Hermione?" I asked finally, killing the lingering silence.  
"Ron and Hermione had some Prefect stuff to do," Harry said glumly. Oh, right, Ron was missing too.  
"You're Harry Potter," Luna said, sending us all into confusion from the unfamiliar tone she had said it in.  
"Yes, I am," He said, looking at her with concern.  
"Don't be bummed that you didn't get to be a Prefect. You almost couldn't even come back to school, I still don't know that you did," She said, staring at him with her big, wide eyes.  
"What's that supposed to even mean?" Harry asked annoyedly.  
She said nothing, but started to read once again, but this time her magazine upright.  
"TheQuibbler? You're reading that rubbish?" Harry said angrily.  
She quickly put down the magazine and exclaimed, "Excuse me! My father's the editor!"  
He stared at her, expressionlessly.  
He must have eventually decided to not say anything, so he leaned back in his seat, aggravated.  
"It's okay, Harry, I didn't get Prefect either," Neville said, trying to help, but not doing so well.  
Harry looked at him with an 'are you kidding me?' look, which made Neville look down again.  
"Hermione Granger, Neville," Luna said randomly.  
Everyone turned at her, confused looks glued on our faces.  
Why did she say that?  
"What are you talking about?" I asked concernedly.  
She sat there, expressionless before hiding her face with the magazine once again.  
I was angry, and I was not quite sure why.  
Why did she randomly say Hermione's name to Neville?  
What did this mean?  
Did it have something to do with what she said earlier?  
All these thoughts kept on swirling my mind as I rode silently in the train, as most everyone had fallen asleep, or whatever Luna was doing.  
I could feel my mind twist and twist with confusing thoughts until I, myself, fell asleep...  
... To be continued...


	25. Back at Hogwarts

Hermione's POV:

"Ron?" I asked as I looked through each compartment window, looking for my friends' familiar faces.

"Yea, Hermione?" He responded, looking confused.

"What's wrong with George?" I asked, not knowing exactly what I was thinking.

"A lot of things," Ron said, laughing softly, continuing to walk, "what do you mean?"

"Well, I mean he's acting strange-" Ron snorted, "...more than usual. He and I used to be close-" Ron widened his eyes and smirked at me, "Oh stop it, Ronald. Boys! Will they never listen?"

"I will, Granger," I turned around abruptly at the sound of that cold voice, "well, no, I'll listen to you when there's something interesting, which there, might I add, usually isn't."

"How you ever became a Prefect is beyond me, Malfoy," I taunted angrily.

"Well, let's just say I'm a lovable guy. You'd know that, right?" Draco said maliciously.

"Please, like I would love you," I retorted.

"Some say I'm a ladies' man. You wouldn't know how that was like, would you, Weasley?" Draco said, smirking from ear to ear.

I wanted nothing more than to smack that smirk off his dead, pale face.

"What girl would want to date an evil snake like you, Malfoy?" Ron replied furiously.

"Ron's twice the guy you'll ever be, Malfoy!" I yelled mindlessly.

Ron and Draco both raised suspicious eyebrows at me.

"Well maybe you and your brother can fight over her. Hey, maybe it'll be a real party and Harry can join too. Oh, I can't wait," Draco finally said before finally entering his compartment with a satisfied look upon his face.

"I can't believe that bloke," Ron said furiously.

"I know. He thinks he's all that. Please!" I said, laughing slightly.

"Yeah, he's not. But, like you said, I am," Ron said, smiling proudly at me.

"Oh, don't get a big head, I was just trying to get rid of Malfoy," I said, walking to the compartment filled with sleeping students.

"Ouch, Hermione," Ron said, opening the door.

I smiled and rolled my eyes at him before entering.

"Pretty full in here, Ron," I said, glancing around the compartment.

"Not a lot of room with Harry, Ginny, George, Neville, and- who is that?" Ron asked, referring to the girl in the corner with a magazine laying over her face, but her white blonde hair visible from the side of her body.

"It doesn't matter, we just need to find a place to sit," I said, looking around, "let's see... There's a place beside Neville, and there's one by Ginny-"

But before I knew it, Ron filled the empty seat beside Ginny and I was left standing.

"Hey, not far!" I said quietly, careful not to wake anyone up.

"Too bad there's not one by your boyfriend-"

"He's not my boyfriend, Ronald!"

"You've got to sit by Neville. Don't get too comfortable or George might lose his mind," Ron said, smirking widely as he moved himself into a comfortable position.

"Might?" I said laughingly before sitting myself beside Neville.

I sat there for a while, Ron already drifting off. I suddenly became very tired myself, and I couldn't look at the moving objects outside the window for much longer, so I leaned my head on Neville's shoulder gently, and fell asleep.

Little did I know that he put his arm around my shoulders after I fell asleep...

~•~

George's POV:

"Thought I'd never see this sight," I heard from Ginny as I slowly woke up.

"I told you," Luna said as I opened my eyes slowly to see Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Luna standing around someone.

"Oh no, George is awake," Ron said, turning around to me.

All of them turned around and looked at me.

"What is it?" I asked curiously.

"It's nothing, George. Don't worry about it," Ginny said sympathetically, trying to cover whatever it was.

I stood up and pushed them all out of the way to see Neville sleeping with a dozing Hermione under his arm and envy and anger enraged instantaneously around my body, and I wanted to pull her from his arm.

But I didn't.

My heart fell to my feet and I just sat down and looked at the horrendous sight that was sprawled in front of me.

Was I really going to fight Neville Longbottom for Hermione's attention?

"It's not what you think, George, she just sat there because it was empty and she just fell asleep," Ron explained, trying to help the situation, but wasn't doing too well.

"That doesn't explain why he has his arm around her!" I exclaimed loudly.

"George, you know good and well that you'd do the same thing if Hermione fell asleep on your side!" Ginny said.

She's right, I would. But I liked Hermione, does that mean Neville likes Hermione too?

Just then I heard a yawn and Hermione stretched out her arms and woke up to everyone looking at her.

"What's wrong? Did George prank me? I swear if I-" she stopped and looked at Neville sleeping on her side, his arm wrapped around her shoulder.

She smiled softly and started to shake Neville gently.

"Neville. Come on, Neville, wake up. You'll be late to the opening ceremony," Hermione whispered gently into his ear and he started to yawn and slowly opened his eyes.

"W-what?" He said, rubbing his eyes with his other arm, before he noticed his arm around Hermione's shoulder.

"Oh, um, sorry, Hermione," He said, blushing furiously as he pulled his arm off her and back into his lap.

It was a long, awkward silence, as I sat there, jealousy strewn widely about my mind.

"That's enough then! Let's get off this train or we'll be late!" Hermione said, standing up and leaving the compartment, which I quickly followed.

"What was all that bloody rubbish about?" I asked unsubtly as we walked out of the train.

"What are you talking about?" She asked, stepping out of the door.

"That sleeping stunt with Neville back there!" I yelled angrily.

"Aw, someone's jealous," she said with an innocent smile.

"It's not funny!" I screamed.

"All right, I just came in, and the only open seat happened to be by Neville, and I fell asleep. It's no big deal, don't overreact. You tend to do that a lot," Hermione said, putting her trunk into the back of the horseless carriage.

"I do not overreact!-" I yelled so loudly that a few wizards turned their heads. Hermione raised her eyebrow at me, "Alright, I may overreact slightly."

"Slightly?" She said, giggling, "Okay..."

"Hey!" I said, throwing my trunk into the carriage.

"Careful, George, you don't want to cause an earthquake," Hermione said sarcastically with a slight smirk.

"Ha ha, very funny," I said annoyedly, hopping into the carriage and sat grudgingly into a seat.

"What's wrong, Harry?" Hermione asked, looking at a starstruck Harry, who was staring at the carriage.

"Do you not see it?" He asked, amazed, pointing to the empty air in front of the carriage.

"See what, Harry?" Hermione asked, looking around.

"It's right in front of you! Those... Creatures, black creatures, pulling the horseless carriage!" Harry exclaimed, flabbergasted.

"You're losing it, Harry. Just come on," Ron said, stepping up the side.

Hermione followed Ron, Neville followed her, behind him was Ginny, and behind her drifted Luna, and they all sat down around me as the carriage started to move upwards.

"I must be going mad," Harry said, running his fingers through his hair.

"You're not going mad," Luna said, everyone's attention being drawn to her, "I can see them too. Don't worry, you're just as sane as I am."

Harry scoffed, "Great," he said sarcastically, staring at the floor.

"Does anyone know who the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is?" Neville asked, changing the subject.

"I don't know, but I'm very curious to see who they ended up with," Hermione said precisely.

"Considering the events of the past professors, they'd better be prepared," Harry said with a small smile, followed by a soft chuckle from everyone.

I stared off into space, deep into thought, closing out anything that anyone was saying. I knew good and well that I was, like Hermione said, overreacting about all this. I was overthinking it, but I couldn't stand the thought of losing her.

"George!" Ginny yelled, I quickly turning my head to her.

"What?" I yelled angrily with a loud, raucous tone.

"First of all, you need to chill out," Ginny said seriously, "second of all, Fred told me to tell you to meet him in the library on Sunday at two in the evening, about something 'top secret'"

"Ooh, top secret, sounds suspicious. What're you hiding, Georgie?" Hermione asked, nudging me with a suspicious smile.

I knew what Fred was referring to. Last year, Harry gave all of his winnings from the Tri-wizard Tournament to Fred and I to start our own business with our Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. It was top secret because if mum found out that Fred and I accepted one-thousand Galleons from Harry, she'd flip. Even if Fred and I refused to take it at first, but Harry insisted, so, why not?

"All right, I'll meet him," I agreed, looking sideways at Harry, who nodded.

"Here we go," Hermione said as we gently set onto the ground.

"Hey, uh, Hermione?" I asked, stepping down from the carriage behind her.

"Yes, George?" Hermione asked as she grabbed her trunk.

I needed to do it, I needed to ask her to be my girlfriend! I needed to do it before that Longbottom bloke took her from under my nose. This was my last year at Hogwarts with her, I needed to ask her, and soon.

"C-can I ask you something?" I asked nervously, taking my trunk as well.

"Sure," She said, looking at me with interest.

"Well, I-I was, um, wondering if you would, um, like to-"

"Come on, Hermione, we'll be late!" Neville said with a kind smile.

"Sorry, George. Maybe we can talk later?" Hermione said with a wide, happy smile.

"Yeah," I said, discouraged.

"Thank you, George," she said before running off to join Neville.

I sighed as I watched them depart.

"Hey, mate, why so down?" Lee said, putting his arm around me.

"Georgie, where have you been?" Fred asked, appearing on my opposite side.

"Nowhere," I said, starting to walk.

"Someone's in an ugly mood," Fred said jokingly, "what is it?"

"It's nothing," I said, trying to ignore Fred.

"Come on, mate, we both know what it is. The reason that you don't ride the train with Lee and I anymore," Fred said truthfully.

"Hermione's fine, alright?" I muttered angrily.

"Ah, it's about the Granger? The little snogger, eh?" Lee said, laughing.

"Shut up," I said with a slight smile.

"Come on, George, we're your best friends, forget girls! Come along with us, the golden trio. Hermione, Harry, and Ron have nothing on us," Lee said, opening the door to Hogwarts.

"Did Ginny tell you my message?" Fred asked curiously.

"Yeah, she did," I said as I made my way to the Great Hall.

"All right, you'll be there, right?" Fred asked.

"I suppose," I answered.

"Come on, Georgie, have some enthusiasm! Our first store, show a little excitement," Fred told me assuredly.

"I am excited," I assured him.

"We'll work on it," Fred said, smiling.

"You'll hire me at your shop, won't you?" Lee asked enthusiastically.

"In your dreams," Fred said with a slight chuckle.

"Ah, come on, mate," Lee said, sitting down at the Gryffindor table.

Fred and I sat down on either side of Lee as Dumbledore began to speak.

"Welcome to Hogwarts everyone! I trust you all have made your way to your seats. Now, before we sort the first years into their houses, let me introduce you to our new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Dolores Umbridge," Dumbledore said as a plump woman with a toad-like face , dressed in violet, stood up from her seat, and had little to no applause.

The odd woman stood up and walked to where Dumbledore was standing and whispered something in his ear that made him move away.

"As you all know-" she began.

"Is she giving a speech? Blimey, didn't know new professors could do that," Ron whispered.

"They can't. I don't know who that woman thinks she is," Hermione said.

"I've seen her before," Harry said quickly to us, looking up at Umbridge.

"You've seen that toad?" Ron asked, confused. No one was listening to her speech, and no one cared.

"She was at my hearing," Harry answered with a disgusted look.

"Wonderful, she's one of those blokes who agrees with Fudge. She believes that you-know-who hasn't returned and the fact that he could possibly had is rubbish," Fred said vaguely.

"Great, another person to hate me," Harry said stubbornly.

"This is going to a wonderful year," Neville said sarcastically.

"We have her and that Loony character," Ron said, keeping his voice down.

"Her name's Luna, and she's not that bad," Ginny said, standing up for Luna.

"What was all that nonsense about Neville and Hermione?" Ron asked, curious.

"What? What nonsense?" Hermione asked confusedly.

"Luna said something about Neville needing a girlfriend to boost his confidence. She later said your name out of the blue, so it led to suspicion," Harry explained to Hermione as Neville sank in his seat.

"Oh, well, who knows what she was talking about, maybe she saw something in that magazine that made her think of me, you never know," Hermione said, obviously denying what they were saying.

Ron laughed under his breath, "Alright, whatever you say."

"Thank you, Dolores for that, well, informative speech," McGonagall said as Dolores sat back in her seat, her toad face gleaming with ugly pleasure, "now time to sort the first years."

~•~

Hermione's POV:

"Come on, Ron, we need to show the first years around!" I yelled as Ron started to drift off with Harry in the opposite direction.

"Oh, right," Ron said as he looked at Harry, "Sorry, Harry, I'll see you upstairs."

Ron came over to me and we huddled all the first year Gryffindors up the moving stairs.

"Hang on tight, these stairs often like to move directions on you," Ron said with a smile as he moved the children up the stairs.

"How am I supposed to get to classes on time with these stairs moving all the time? Won't I fall off?" Asked a young boy with strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes.

"He sounds an awful lot like you, Ron," I said to Ron with a smile, "What's your name, then?"

"William, William Shakespeare," the kid answered.

I chuckled at his answer, knowing that he must be a Muggle-born just like me.

"Unless you're actually a literary genius, I would like to know your real name," I said kindly.

"I consider myself a literary genius, I love to write. My name's Lewis Conally," the kid answered finally.

"Nice to meet you, Lewis. I'm Hermione Granger, but you can call me Miss Granger. This is Ron, he's been late many a time to numerous classes, I advise you to not do the same and do your best to keep out of trouble," I instructed Lewis.

"No trouble? But what's the fun in that?" Lewis asked.

"I think I'll like you, Lewis," Ron said, smiling.

I rolled my eyes with a smile before stepping to the portrait hole.

"Do you know what the password is, Hermione?" Ron asked me as he stood to my side.

I thought for a minute, but I didn't know what the password was. I actually didn't know, which has never happened before.

"No," I answered quickly.

"No? Hermione Granger finally doesn't know something!" Ron exclaimed excitedly.

"Hey!" I said, "You didn't know it either!"

"But I'm not Hermione Granger, the brightest with of her age," Ron said, his proud smile glued to his face.

"Wait! I know it! I know the password!" I heard a voice say as they ran up the stairs to the portrait hole.

"Neville? You know the password?" Ron asked as the out-of-breath Neville emerged to the portrait hole.

"Yes, yeah," Neville said breathlessly.

"That's just sad," Ron whispered into my ear.

"Shut up, Ronald," I said quietly back to him.

"Mimbulus Mimbletonia," Neville muttered and the portrait door swung open.

"Marvelous, Neville. How did you know that?" I asked with a smile as the first years trotted through the portrait hole.

"It's the name of a plant that I got a couple months ago," Neville said as he showed me a leafy plant inside of a concrete pot, "I have a thing for Herbology, you know."

"That's brilliant, Neville!" I exclaimed happily, "I was in quite of a bind with all these first years. Thanks."

"Anytime, Hermione," Neville said with a slight smile.

We stood there for a few seconds, not saying anything, it was odd and pleasant at the same time.

"Miss Granger's got herself a boyfriend," Lewis said jokingly behind me as I quickly stiffened and turned around to face Lewis.

"Lewis! Let's get you to your dormitory," I said quickly as I shoved him towards Ron.

"Sorry," I said to Neville before following Lewis.

"No need to apologize, Hermione," Neville said with a smile and I quickly found myself smiling as well...

... To be continued...


	26. Faux Identity

George's POV:

The next few days were uneventful, I rarely found time to speak to Hermione about, well, you know. With her new serious friendship with Neville and her constant studying for her O.W.L.s along with Fred, Lee, and I selling our inventions, I found no time to speak to Hermione. This was my last year as a student at Hogwarts, and I needed to make the best of it.

I sat on a windowsill, watching raindrops fall down the glass of the window, seeing which one would get to the bottom the fastest. I guess you could say I was pretty bored.

"George?"

A little first year girl with bright brown shoulder-length girl was beside my window, looking at me curiously.

"Yes, ma'am?" I asked politely, swinging my feet off the windowsill to face the girl.

"May I buy some Nosebleed Nougats?" She asked with an innocent smile.

"Sure. That'll be five Knutz, sweetie," I said kindly as she pulled five bronze coins from her pocket and handed them to me, "thank you, my dear."

"I advise you not to put them in someone's morning eggs,"

I looked up to a grinning Hermione leaning against the wall.

"Hey, Granger," I said softly, emerging from my windowsill isolation spot.

"You know, as I am a prefect, I can report you for selling your inventions to young students, who don't know any better," She said, crossing her arms, her smile shining from ear to ear.

"I suppose you can," I started, smiling widely, moving closer to her, "but you won't."

"Why do you think I won't?" She asked seriously.

"Because, even though you're a rule follower, you wouldn't want me expelled, do you? You don't want me to leave, do you?" I asked, standing closely in front of her.

"Well... well, I suppose not," I stood up with a satisfied smile, "but, George, if I find one child that has become ill because of you and your brother's stupid inventions, I'll report you to Professor McGonagall faster than you can say Quidditch."

"Prefect Hermione scares me," I said slyly.

She smiled again and looked at her feet and back at me.

"You know, if you're so bored, you could try studying! Your N.E.W.T.s are coming up soon and if you flunk them, you'll never get a steady career!" Hermione advised me.

"First of all, Hermione, we've only been in school for barely a week. And second of all, I already know what I'm going to do after Hogwarts," I explained to her, making a point.

"You know what you're going to work as after you leave Hogwarts? Wow, George, I wouldn't ever expect you to be prepared," Hermione said, slightly surprised.

"Ow, Hermione," I said, pretending to be hurt from her response.

"Sorry," she said half-heartedly, "So, what are you planning to do?"

I didn't want to tell her that I was going to work at a joke shop in Diagon Alley, which Fred and I had already bought a building for. If I had told her, she'd most likely disapprove and try to persuade me into doing a more 'logical' career, plus she'd question me about how I could afford it all, thinking I'd be a thief. So, no, I was not going to tell her. At least not yet.

"I'm... I am... Going to be-" and just in time, all students scattered around to make their way to the portrait hole go get to the Great Hall for dinner, "Sorry, Hermione, I'll tell you later."

No I wasn't.

~0~

Hermione's POV:

"Miss Granger," I jerked awake at the sound of a voice in my ear.

"Huh-er, yes?" I asked, trying to clear my vision and saw Madame Pince in her night clothes, staring at me angrily.

"You were supposed to be in bed four hours ago!" She yelled, but in a hushed voice because we were in a library.

"Oh dear," I said, looking at the clock, that read 1:03 am, "I must've fallen asleep studying again."

"Out! You must get into bed, immediately!" She said, taking the book that was under my arm and putting it up.

I quickly grabbed my bag and ran down the dark, empty corridors.

I noticed on the way to the common room, a door left ajar with loud noises coming from it.

"Hello?" I asked at the door, looking around at the room, which had glass broken all over the floor, potion ingredients thrown across the room, and cauldrons sitting upside down on the ground.

The noise ceased, but I continued to step in, carefully.

"Anyone in here?" I asked, continuing to look around.

I looked to the right and screamed at the sight of George standing in front of me. Only something seemed different, his eyes, normally green, were light gray with some bright green, but he had no pupils. Surely I was mistaken, I mean it was dark in there.

"George! What are you doing in here? You'll get into trouble!" I said, looking around the room, to make sure no one was in there.

"Oh, you would care about that, wouldn't you?" George said in an unusual dark tone, walking around.

"Of course I would! What is that supposed to even mean?" I asked, keeping my eyes on him.

"Hermione Granger, that annoying little freak that no one listens to, because God knows she can talk the life out of someone," He said in a suspiciously deep voice.

"Excuse me, Weasley! What makes you think that you can talk to me like that?" I asked, hurt intensely by his rude comment.

"Bit bossy, oh yes. How did a filthy Mudblood like you ever get into this school?" He said, surveying the shelves.

I had been called that before, I think. But from whom?

"W-what're you saying? Stop it!" I said, hurt badly.

Is that what he always thought of me? A filthy... Mudblood? Did he really think I bossy? No, this couldn't be him, it just couldn't.

"Wearing his- my jacket again, are you?" He turned around to me and put his hand on my sleeve, well, his sleeve, saying it was originally his.

"... Yes," I said in disbelief. This had to be George.

George ripped the sleeve from my arm, but it felt more like he ripped my heart.

"You aren't worthy to wear this," he said darkly with a sly smirk.

I'm not worthy? What in the bloody world is that supposed to mean? I wasn't worthy to be his girlfriend?

I felt tears emerge in my eyelids, trying to escape as I faced the hideous truth. He never liked me, did he?

"If-If that's what you truly think, then forget about kissing me again," I said, my voice breaking.

I couldn't believe this. This wasn't him, I know it wasn't! It couldn't be him, it just couldn't. It had to have been, though, how else could he have known about my- his jacket?

"I don't know you anymore, George," I looked around, trying to keep myself together, and realized the wreckage around me, "breaking in to steal? I know you've done bad things before, but this is too far!"

"Shut it, and keep your dirty blood out of my business,"

My heart dropped.

"Okay..." I didn't know how much more of this I could handle, "okay, well. I hope you have fun without me then. And when I report you to-"

"You will not speak of this to anyone!" George hadn't been this close to me except for when he and I kissed, but that definitely wasn't going to happen this time.

"What makes you think I won't? You think you can just treat my like that-"

"Aw, Granger can't handle the truth!" George said, causing me intense pain.

"Just stop it George! I don't know what's gotten into you, I really don't! I hope you have fun getting expelled!" I ran away, trying to keep myself together. George seized my wrist, pulling me back.

"Let go of me, you vile buffoon!" I yelled, trying to get out of his grip.

"You listen here, Granger, if you tell a soul that I did this, it will be the last thing you do," He said, close once again.

I looked into his fiery green eyes, that my heart used to skip a beat when I saw, but no longer did. All I had for him right now was anger and disbelief.

"Who are you, George?" I asked him softly, not knowing what had gotten into him.

I pulled away from him and took my resentment with me. I refused to believe that George thought of me like that, a filthy Mudblood. This was a dream, a nightmare, it had to be.

~0~

George's POV:

I woke up on Sunday morning on the floor, my feet were still on my bed. My covers were strewn around my body, my hair sticking up on every end as my head lay uncomfortably on the hardwood.

"Blimely, looks like Harry and Hermione weren't the only ones with a rough night," I turned my head to see Ron, Fred, and Lee standing over me, looking at me as though I was a museum exhibit.

"Why am I on the floor?" I asked, standing up, rubbing my head.

"We were about to ask you the same thing, mate," Fred said, laughing.

"Ron? What are you doing in here?" I asked, putting my covers back on top of my bed.

"Harry had a tough night last night, woke up much like you. Fred told me that you were on the floor, of course I couldn't miss that," Ron explained.

"Why did Harry have a rough night?" I asked curiously.

"Said he had a bad dream. What about you?" He asked me.

I was unsure, completely unsure of why I woke up on the floor, or how I could possibly have had a 'rough night' when I couldn't remember anything.

"I, I don't know," I said truthfully, "I can't remember anything that happened last night after dinner. What about Hermione? Why did she have a rough night?"

"I'm not completely sure, she wouldn't tell me. She was furious about it, whatever it was. Drove her through a loop," Ron said.

"I hope she's alright. I didn't see her after lunch. All I remember is going to the library after dinner last night, I don't know how or when I went to bed," I said, with honest truth.

"Well you came in loudly, that's for certain," Lee said.

"Yeah, could've woken up the whole school, I imagine," Fred said.

"Well," I didn't know what to say, I couldn't remember anything, so what was I supposed to say?

"Nevermind that, we've got to get to breakfast," Ron said, checking the time on his watch.

"Right," I said, Ron, Lee, Fred, who were already dressed, leaving the dormitory.

"And remember, tonight, we need to discuss things," Fred whispered to me, looking around to see if Ron had left the room completely.

"Okay," I agreed, before he nodded and left.

I looked through my trunk for my clothes when I noticed a cut on my arm. A circle. What did it mean? And where did it come from? This I did not know. There were a lot of things I didn't know, and I was often left in utter confusion, but none like this.

I decided to shake it off and went on to change into my robes.

I walked down the corridors to the Great Hall and I stopped in my tracks to an awful headache. I seized my hands over my head and felt nothing on top of it. And when I say nothing, I mean I had a bald spot on the back of my head, where my headache was.

"Dear God, I can't be going bald this young," I said and quickly sprinted back to my dormitory and quickly grabbed a red and gold striped hat and pulled it over my head.

"What's up with the hat?" Fred asked me as I took a seat beside him in the Great Hall ten minutes later, "it's like eighty degrees outside."

"Fashion statement," I said, smiling.

"You're odd, you know that, right?" Lee said apprehensively.

"You're just now realising this?" Fred asked Lee, who shrugged.

I took a bite of my ham sandwich and looked at Hermione, who looked at me with anger and sadness flaming in her eyes and quickly looked down at her plate.

What was up with her?

"Hey, George, can we meet by the lake today at around one thirty?" Fred whispered to me, careful not to raise suspicions.

"Yeah," I said, taking another bite of my sandwich.

"Attention students," I turned around at the sound of Dumbledore's voice, "we were told late last night, that there was a break-in, in the Potions classroom, and a lot of the ingredients were stolen and many of Professor Snape's tools were taken as well. With this, all Potions classes will furthermore be cancelled until all the equipment will be recovered, and the classroom is off-bounds until further notice. I advise you take your free time looking over your textbooks and studying. Professor Snape will advise you all of your homework tomorrow morning. And as for the culprit, we are yet to find out who did this. That is all, thank you."

"Blimey," I said in disbelief, "I'm not a fan of Snape, but somebody stealing all of his stuff. That's low."

"Yeah," Fred said, quickly avoiding my eyes, drinking his Pumpkin Juice.

"What, what was that about?" I asked, confused.

Fred gulped, "It's just that you came in really late last night, later than anyone else-"

"You think I stole Snape's stuff?" I yelled loudly in utter anger and distrust.

"Well, I don't know. What were you doing last night?" Fred asked, looking at me nervously.

"I told you! I don't know! I can't remember anything," I said truthfully, "You know what? Nevermind, I need to go study."

Of course I wasn't actually going to study, I was just unbelievably mad at Fred for accusing me of something like that. Sure, I didn't like Snape, and sure I might have taken the Mauraders Map, from Filch's office before. But I wouldn't have done this.

I walked down the corridors and past the Potions classroom, that was closed off. Filch was inspecting the room, shaking his head, muttering something about students messing everything up.

"Weasley!" I turned around to that toad-faced Umbridge.

"Yes, toadbridge? Er- Umbridge, Professor Umbridge, professor?" I stuttered.

"What do you think you're doing by this classroom after you were told that it is off-bounds? You wouldn't have something to do with this fiasco, would you, dearie?" She asked in her falsely sweet voice.

"Unless it has some comedic affliction along with it, I don't think so, so no. But if I were you, I'd pay more attention to the fifth floor bathrooms," I said with a smirk before walking off.

Let's just say Lee and Fred were to set up dungbombs in the toilets soon

"I'll be keeping my eyes on you, Mr. Weasley," she said harshly.

"You do that, all the ladies do," I said, turning around, walking backwards before making two guns with my hands and turning around proudly.

"Don't get on my bad side," Umbridge said, but I was already out of reach.

I thought I was.

I looked out the window, trying to get over Fred's accusation, when a searing pain emerged from my arm. I pulled my sleeve and saw my cut bleeding slightly. I ran into the bathroom and put it under cold water, to wash off the blood, but it didn't do anything. The blood sat there, unable to contact with the water.

I let out a few grunts of pain before the pain from my wrist ceased and I looked down and the blood drew back into the wound and it was blood free.

"That was odd," I told myself out loud before hiding my wrist under my sleeve and leaving the room again.

I looked out the window and down the stairs and saw Hermione sitting there, reading a book, as usual.

This is my chance.

"Hermione!" I said, sitting beside her excitedly.

"What?" she asked darkly, looking off into the distance.

"What's wrong?" I asked, confused.

"It's nothing," she said, looking down.

"Come on, you can tell me," I said.

"I told you, it's nothing!" She yelled angrily, turning to me, and as she did so, I noticed sorrow in her bright brown eyes, tears showing on her lids slightly.

"All right, alright," I said, putting my arms on my knees.

She looked back down at her book gloomily.

"What're you doing?" I asked, trying to keep conversation going.

"Studying," she answered quietly.

"Right," I said, not getting very far.

I didn't know what her issue was, but this was a good of a time as ever to ask her.

"So, I was wondering," I started, she looked from her book and at me angrily, "I-I was wondering if you-you'd like to."

"Get on with it, I am trying to study," She said, aggravated.

"I was wondering if," Come on, George, just say it! "Okay, I'll just say it. I want you to be my girlfriend." Phew, that's over with.

She turned to me, her eyes actually tearing up now.

"Is that really what you want? Are you sure you'd want to be with a filthy Mudblood like me?" She said sorrowfully.

What is she talking about? I'd never think of her like that.

"Why would a pure-blood like you want to date a Mudblood like me?" She said, tears glistening in her eyes.

"What are you on about?" I asked, my heart breaking, and my mind spinning.

"My want to confess your crimes before asking me what I'm on about!" She yelled.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, disbelieving.

"It doesn't matter anymore," she said, closing her book and standing up to walk.

"I didn't get an answer," I yelled to her. This was a bad idea.

"What do you think it is?" She asked, wiping her eyes from tears.

I looked at her for an answer. I just couldn't stop myself.

"No!"

That crushed my heart.

She's gone insane, surely she's gone insane, that's the only logical reason.

It didn't matter, she didn't want to be my girlfriend, and that was that. She didn't like me anymore.

Another trouble to add to my prolonged list. I felt broken and worthless. I don't know why I even tried, I just got humiliated.

Was this going to be the end of our relationship?

... To be continued...


	27. Now You See Me

I was angry and confused the rest of the day, and I didn't know what to do. She was the only reason I would continue to stay at Hogwarts, and now she doesn't even want to be seen with me. But what confused me the most was the fact that she told me to confess my crimes. What crimes?

The day started to fade away as I sat on my bed, watching the sun set. I didn't know what to do anymore. I just wanted to sleep my days away, because only in my dreams will I be with Hermione again.

I sighed in melancholy before dressing into my night clothes as the moon took the sun's place in the sky and the stars shone beautifully around the glistening half moon. I gloomily got into my bed, trying to forget this day and the girl that I've lost.

"George!" I was woken up about thirty minutes later with the sound of Fred's flustered voice into our dormitory.

"What?" I asked sleepily, wiping my eyes until the blurry image of Fred become clearer.

"I waited five hours for you! Where were you all day?" He asked in rage and disbelief.

I completely forgot about Fred.

"Oh, right, sorry, mate. I was with Hermione-" I started, but was quickly interrupted.

"Hermione? You left me for her, again? I'm starting to think you'd rather be with her than with me!"

"Look, Fred, it's not like that, I just had to speak to her is all. We can just reschedule, all right?"

"Reschedule? You must've forgotten, but this is for our future, George! This is happening, we are already paying for the rent for our store! We can't just reschedule! We don't have time. Do you still even want to do this or would you rather marry your precious Hermione and forget about our life long dreams to open a joke store together?" Fred said furiously.

I didn't know how much he cared about this. I mean, I care too. But he felt left out whenever I hung out with Hermione instead of him, which was a lot. I've been a jerk to him, and I haven't even cared about his feelings.

"You know what? I'd rather go alone then have you with me. I'm sure Hermione would like that," He said angrily.

I didn't know what to say. I couldn't tell him about what happened to me and Hermione, especially now.

"Have fun going solo, George." He said finally before pulling the covers over his head.

Well that was dramatic.

"Fred," I said, but no answer.

I felt bad, but I was too upset to say anything. The two people I cared the most about in this world hate me now.

My life sucks.

~0~

Hermione's POV:

Draining the pain away. I tried. I tried very hard. It hurt so bad about what he said, but what was worse is that he acted like he didn't do it. I don't know what I could do now. There was one thing that kept on popping up in my mind, "Will you be my girlfriend?", he asked me the question that I've been waiting to hear for years. But I wasn't sure I wanted that question asked by him anymore. But why? Why would he treat me like that and call me a- well, a Mudblood and then act like nothing happened and ask me to be his girlfriend? Something's not right here, but I can't spend my life figuring out what's wrong with George, and maybe it's time to... Move on.

"Hey, Hermione!" I heard a voice behind me after Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson a few months later.

I turned around to see Neville and I lit up slightly, "Hey Neville." I said before exiting the classroom.

"Are you going to Hogsmeade next weekend?" He asked, slight nervousness in his tone, walking by my side.

"Wouldn't miss it!" I said a little too enthusiastically, "Why do you ask?"

"Well, um, I was wondering-"

"Hermione, we need to talk, it's urgent," Ron said from behind me.

"Er, um, alright. Sorry, Neville, can we talk later?" I asked, feeling bad for cutting him off when he was obviously nervous.

"Oh, um, I suppose so," He said, slightly upset.

"Thanks, Neville," I said with a tender smile before kissing him lightly on the cheek, which made both of us tighten up slightly.

Did I just kiss Neville?

"What was that about?" Harry asked me as he, Ron and I made it up to the common room.

"I don't know, it doesn't matter," I said quickly, confused myself, "What did you need to talk about?"

"You know how I had detention with Umbridge last night?" Harry asked.

"Yes, you did talk back to her, Harry," I said promptly, but he scowled at me.

"So do you think he deserved this?" Ron asked me, pulling the sleeve up from Harry's arm and revealing a dark red scar that read, 'I must not tell lies.'

"Oh my- Harry! How did this happen?" I asked in disbelief, examining his wrist.

"I-I don't know, she told me to write lines, and gave me this odd quill and I was confused, but started to write and felt a cutting pain in my hand and looked down and saw this on my hand," He explained.

"Oh, Harry, you have to tell Dumbledore about this!" I said, gaping at the scar on his hand.

"No! I can't! I haven't spoken to him since last year! I shouldn't have even told you, but Ron found it on my hand and," but he stopped for George came up behind me.

"What do you want, George?" Ron asked.

I sat there, firmly in my chair and did not look at George, but I felt his presence and wanted it to end.

"Nothing," he finally answered and walked off to a chair beside Angelina. He looked at me, and I looked at him with the corner of my eye. I felt an odd feeling in my stomach as his green eyes turned to Angelina and no longer looked at me.

"Hermione!" Ron yelled, trying to get my attention.

"Oh, uh, yeah?" I said, disguising the pain I had inside of my stomach.

"I was saying how Umbridge doesn't even have us do spells," Ron filled me in.

"I know, I think it's ridiculous, I mean what if we get attacked like Harry and don't know how to use the spell?" I exclaimed as though I didn't get distracted.

"Now you're actually making sense!" Ron said jokingly, which I scowled at, "What're we going to about this, Harry?"

"About what?" I turned to see Ginny.

"It's nothing, Ginny," Ron answered.

"Come on, Ron! I have a right to understand what's going on!" She said, taking a seat on the couch beside Harry.

"We're talking about what to do about Umbridge's classes, because she doesn't allow anyone to use spells," Harry said.

"Harry!" Ron barked.

"Ginny can know what's going on. I trust her," Harry said, Ginny smiling.

I quickly became happy and looked at Ginny with a smile glued to my face. Hmm.

The next few days we continued to discuss about the extra Defense Against the Dark Arts classes, and I found it very helpful in the matter of not worrying about George. Today was the Hogsmeade trip, and Neville and I hadn't found time to do much talking after Ron, Ginny, Harry, and I started to talk in our free time about Harry's extra lessons.

"I honestly don't know what to do about Umbridge," said Ginny hopelessly as we sat in the Three Broomsticks, furthering our discussion while sipping on some warm Butterbeer.

"What's with this 'High Inquisitor' rubbish. No one in the right mind would let that weasel in charge of us," Ron said deliberately.

"If she finds out about our 'secret society', who knows what she'll do," Ginny replied.

"I think we should find a certain meeting place and have people who are interested join us," I suggested confidently.

"But only if they're on Harry's side. I don't want to have to deal with anymore Seamuses. His mum almost didn't let him return back to school because of Dumbledore and Harry. Can't wait 'till I get to see the shocked looks on their stupid faces," Ron said maliciously, taking a sip.

I giggled slightly at this.

Our discussion prolonged as the morning turned into afternoon. We began to walk out of the Three Broomsticks as I turned my head to see Neville sitting in a booth, alone. I felt very disgruntled for a second, I must have forgotten to speak to him again.

"You coming, Hermione?" Ron asked as my hand held the door open, but my attention was somewhere else.

"Yeah, I'll be there in a minute," I said and before he could respond, I walked over and sat beside Neville.

"Hi," I said as a slightly surprised Neville looked up at me.

"Um, hi," he said, a little confused.

Silence arose and I suddenly found myself staring at my enclosed hands as though they were a piece of artwork.

"So, um, I was wondering what you were wanting to ask me a few days ago," I said, keeping my focus on my hands.

"Oh, right, well... I wanted to know if you'd like to-"

"Granger," said a voice behind me and I jumped.

I did not look at the person, but merely glared at Neville's cup of Butterbeer.

"Yes?" I asked in an unpleasant tone.

"Why are you acting so sour? Ah, it's because of Georgie, I'm supposing. It's alright, I'm in the same boat." As he spoke I realized it had to be Fred, so I turned my head and sure enough it was that grinning git.

"What do you want?" I asked, looking at sideways at Neville who was looking awkwardly at his cup much as I had been.

"I want to know what happened between you and George," he explained, taking a seat beside me.

"And why would you want to know that?" I asked, wishing more than anything not to relive that memory.

"Chill out, Hermione, I'm on your side. It's just that George was up in the dormitory for hours because of something that had happened between you and him," Fred explained, taking a roll from the middle of the table.

Stayed up in his dormitory for hours because of what happened... He's not the only one.

"Well I assure it's nothing to concern you about," I explained, crossing my arms, "and with that, I believe Neville and I were having a conversation."

"Alright, if that's the path that you want to take," Fred said, standing up outside of the booth, "and by the way, if you and Neville get, you know, together, it might just ruin George."

"Maybe it might," I said as he smirked and walked off.

I sat back down and looked at Neville, who looked thoroughly confused.

"What?" I asked him.

"I was about to ask you the same thing," he snapped back.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"What happened between you and George?" Neville said up right.

I hadn't seen this confidence and straight forwardness in Neville before... And I liked it.

"So I see it's the interest of the day," I said, kind of taken aback.

"Come on, Hermione, we've been friends for a while now, and I think you're wise enough to know that I won't tell anyone," Neville said, his confidence growing. I was grinning like a ninny on the inside.

"Not even your grandmum?" I asked, smiling widely.

He paused for a moment as though in thought, "No," he finally responded.

"All right," I said finally.

I told Neville the story, of how George broke into the Potions classroom, and what George said to me and how he acted like he didn't know what I was talking about. And to my most deepest delight, he listened, he didn't interrupt me, he just sat there, listening.

"And to say, if anyone thought we would be dating is wrong," I said, my insides taking a deep drop.

It was silent. I took a sip of my Butterbeer that I had ordered between my long lecture. I was shaking. I was full of unreleased tears and fury. Reliving this memory was a push on me, and I wasn't quite sure of why I told Neville and so quickly with little to no persuasion given. It felt as though I could trust him, and trust him I did.

"Idiot," Neville said, breaking the silence.

"Excuse me?" I asked, already on the verge of either breaking the glass I was so firmly clutching in my hands or crying the hidden tears.

"He's an idiot to do that to you," Neville said, and I just stared at his brown eyes and my self control slowly slid away and a single tear slid from my eye and off my cheek, and I quickly wiped it off with my sleeve.

"Thanks," I said with a tearful smile.

This was it. The emotion I had been keeping in for weeks. The tears, the pain. I didn't share with anyone, not even Harry, but here I am, letting my feelings out for a boy who lost his toad on a train in his first year. I was confused and didn't know what I was doing as my eyes flooded and all of the sudden, I found myself staining Neville's robes with tears as his arms wrapped around my shoulder.

Nothing felt better at this moment, and the only words I heard were: "it's okay."

It was overwhelming how refreshing it was to hear those words after all this. I felt more comfortable in his arms than I ever thought I would.

I looked up eventually to Neville, whose eyes made my stomach flip. I had never noticed them before. No one used to notice this guy. And no one cared to. If only they knew what they were missing. The "weird kid" who does nothing right is suddenly the only kid who did something right. The toad chasing Longbottom was suddenly less of a person in the background but the only person I noticed. And before thinking about it, I kissed him...

... Oh, that's what she meant...

... To be continued...


End file.
